By the time Stallone had a shooting script he was happy with, he had written over 100 drafts, completely reworked the direction of the film and either cut or drastically reworked major characters. Throughout the writing process, Stallone had Jet Li and Jason Statham in mind for the roles of Yang and Christmas.
He hadn’t worked with either one of them but was a fan of their work and knew what they were capable of. For Sly, having martial arts icon Jet Li in the film was a no brainer.
Without ever meeting Stallone face to face, Li signed on to play Expendable Yin Yang, a Vietnamese-American trying to live a skewed version of the American Dream.
A close quarter combatant who could fly through the air in attack mode, before his opponents knew what hit them, Li plays Yang with quiet intensity.
"My character is very straight forward, very simple," says Li. "He constantly thinks about making money so that he can have a real life with a real family. He has a dream."
In Statham, an international action star in his own right, Stallone saw untapped potential. "It was a bit of a gamble to cast Jason," admits Stallone, "because you never know if the chemistry is going to work. He comes from a totally different culture than me and he is certainly a lot younger.
"Privately, I saw a side to him that had not been tapped on film and I wanted to use that to expand his character. I wanted him to have a sense of optimism."
Even though Christmas is a knife wielding killing machine, he wears his heart on his sleeve and struggles as his relationship with girlfriend Lacey, played by Charisma Carpenter, goes up in flames.
"I really liked the concept of these regular guys with all these insecurities and problems of their own", Statham points out, "and at the same time when they’re put in these situations, they need to be focused and kick ass, as they say."
From that point on casting became pretty free form as Stallone looked for interesting and unique individuals with unique talents. Oscar winning actors Forest Whitaker and Sir Ben Kingsley were tapped for key roles but as the story and characters continued to take on a life of their own, changes were made.
At one point, rapper Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson was considered until Stallone became concerned he may be going too far in the wrong direction and once again changed course. In the end, Eric Roberts and Terry Crews won the roles.
Crews, best known for his comedic roles in film and television, clearly remembers the day he got the call that Sylvester Stallone wanted to meet with him for a role. "I was flabbergasted and excited," gushes Crews. "For me, working with Stallone was the realization of a childhood fantasy. I was honored."
For Dolph Lundgren, winning the role of Gunnar Jensen was a homecoming of sorts. 25 years after tearing up the screen as Russian fighter Ivan Drago, in Rocky IV, Lundgren found himself once again going toe to toe with Stallone.
And while he has enjoyed a long and varied career including directing his own features, Lundgren saw the role of Gunnar as a way of reinventing himself.
"Stallone created my career with the Ivan Drago character," muses Lundgren. "Now here I am, a little bit older and once again Sly has created a multi-faceted character who is larger than life and kind of iconic.
"A more complex character that will hopefully allow the audience a chance to see me in a different light."
Describing his character as 'a crazy son of a bitch', Gunnar is Barney’s best friend and fellow Expendable who can’t control his impulses. Too much combat stress and excessive behavior and a little bit of drugs all contribute to his downward spiral.
For Lundgren, tapping into the emotional core wasn’t the hard part... it was hitting the humorous beats Stallone injects into every script that caused Lundgren to worry.
"I don’t mind killing people or crying," laughs Lundgren, "but at 4 in the morning when I’m burned out emotionally don’t ask me to be funny."
Looking for an athlete with fighting skills and star presence was utmost in Stallone’s mind when casting the role of Toll Road, the thinker of the group who exudes sheer brute force. He found all of it and more in Mixed Martial Arts champion, Randy Couture.
"Randy provided a face and a look that is a roadmap to confrontation, battle, discipline, pain," says Stallone. "Masculine with a glimpse of sensitivity in the eyes."
Couture who sports a ‘cauliflower ear’ caused by 20+ years of wrestling had to put that sensitivity to the test when Stallone wrote a monologue about the ear. "The monologue was in some ways easy for me," relates Couture, "because I was telling the truth. Every wrestler I know will be laughing when they see the scene."
Stallone then turned to his old friend, Mickey Rourke, to play the small but pivotal role of Tool, the weary former Expendable who now runs the business of brokering clandestine missions out of his storefront tattoo shop.
The shop serves as the de facto headquarters for the guys, a place where souls are bared, truths are told and where a sense of camaraderie and belonging prevails.
It is also where the team begins to unravel after Barney decides to take a job the rest of the team sees as suicide. At first glance, Tool seems to have his life under control, but the reality is his life has been a segue way into disappointment.
In a ‘moment of truth’ scene with Barney, it is Tool who ignites a spark of humanity Barney forgot he had. "I’m suffering the pangs of hell," says Stallone, "I’ve basically lost my humanity."
Mickey Rourke, who reintroduced himself to the world in 2008 with a tour de force turn in The Wrestler, and Stallone go back a long way. "I’m a little older than him, but we sort of grew up in the business together," explains Stallone. "We’ve had our ups and downs, know the ins and outs of our lives.
He’s a very sensitive and unique guy, and I thought if he could bring some of that uniqueness to the character of Tool, it would be off the charts."
The Expendables was finally taking shape. As an actor, Stallone knew he had to allow the cast to bring their individuality to each role. As a director, he also understood the importance of tailoring ideas to maximize the skills and talents of each individual actor. "Each of them were stars in their own right," explains Stallone, "and needed to be served equally."
"But," he continues, "I have to say they all came to the table and put their egos aside. Everyone was on board to give 100% to the role. They made my job easy."
Lundgren applauds Stallone for his willingness to collaborate. "When I got the script Gunnar was a totally different guy," recalls Lundgren. "He didn’t figure as much into the story. After meeting with Sly a couple of times, we came up with other ideas.
"Personally I’m a shy person, I stay in the background and let everybody else run around so Sly wrote that into the character."
The last piece of the puzzle was filling the role of Sandra, the woman Barney and Christmas leave in jeopardy in Vilena when their reconnaissance mission turns bad. Sandra, who unknowingly becomes the catalyst for Barney’s change of heart had to be tough, intelligent, beautiful and able to hold her own in a film dominated by testosterone.
Brazilian actress, Giselle Itie (pronounced Eet she), who had studied boxing and jiu jitsu but had never done an action film, won the role after a worldwide casting call.
For the all-important supporting roles, Stallone called on the versatility of actor Eric Roberts for rogue ex-CIA agent Monroe, a man caught up in a trap of his own design. Roberts brings a steely coldness to the soulless Monroe. For the role of henchman and Monroe sidekick, Paine, Stallone brought in former pro wrestler Steve Austin.
"When I watched Sly direct Eric Roberts", remember Austin, "he knows exactly what he’s looking for, knows exactly what he wants his actors to do, how he wants them to do it, and he tells them. He’s very clear in his direction and vision."
The Expendables is out now.
By the time Stallone had a shooting script he was happy with, he had written over 100 drafts, completely reworked the direction of the film and either cut or drastically reworked major characters. Throughout the writing process, Stallone had Jet Li and Jason Statham in mind for the roles of Yang and Christmas.
He hadn’t worked with either one of them but was a fan of their work and knew what they were capable of. For Sly, having martial arts icon Jet Li in the film was a no brainer.
Without ever meeting Stallone face to face, Li signed on to play Expendable Yin Yang, a Vietnamese-American trying to live a skewed version of the American Dream.
A close quarter combatant who could fly through the air in attack mode, before his opponents knew what hit them, Li plays Yang with quiet intensity.
"My character is very straight forward, very simple," says Li. "He constantly thinks about making money so that he can have a real life with a real family. He has a dream."
In Statham, an international action star in his own right, Stallone saw untapped potential. "It was a bit of a gamble to cast Jason," admits Stallone, "because you never know if the chemistry is going to work. He comes from a totally different culture than me and he is certainly a lot younger.
"Privately, I saw a side to him that had not been tapped on film and I wanted to use that to expand his character. I wanted him to have a sense of optimism."
Even though Christmas is a knife wielding killing machine, he wears his heart on his sleeve and struggles as his relationship with girlfriend Lacey, played by Charisma Carpenter, goes up in flames.
"I really liked the concept of these regular guys with all these insecurities and problems of their own", Statham points out, "and at the same time when they’re put in these situations, they need to be focused and kick ass, as they say."
From that point on casting became pretty free form as Stallone looked for interesting and unique individuals with unique talents. Oscar winning actors Forest Whitaker and Sir Ben Kingsley were tapped for key roles but as the story and characters continued to take on a life of their own, changes were made.
At one point, rapper Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson was considered until Stallone became concerned he may be going too far in the wrong direction and once again changed course. In the end, Eric Roberts and Terry Crews won the roles.
Crews, best known for his comedic roles in film and television, clearly remembers the day he got the call that Sylvester Stallone wanted to meet with him for a role. "I was flabbergasted and excited," gushes Crews. "For me, working with Stallone was the realization of a childhood fantasy. I was honored."
For Dolph Lundgren, winning the role of Gunnar Jensen was a homecoming of sorts. 25 years after tearing up the screen as Russian fighter Ivan Drago, in Rocky IV, Lundgren found himself once again going toe to toe with Stallone.
And while he has enjoyed a long and varied career including directing his own features, Lundgren saw the role of Gunnar as a way of reinventing himself.
"Stallone created my career with the Ivan Drago character," muses Lundgren. "Now here I am, a little bit older and once again Sly has created a multi-faceted character who is larger than life and kind of iconic.
"A more complex character that will hopefully allow the audience a chance to see me in a different light."
Describing his character as 'a crazy son of a bitch', Gunnar is Barney’s best friend and fellow Expendable who can’t control his impulses. Too much combat stress and excessive behavior and a little bit of drugs all contribute to his downward spiral.
For Lundgren, tapping into the emotional core wasn’t the hard part... it was hitting the humorous beats Stallone injects into every script that caused Lundgren to worry.
Tagged in Sylvester Stallone The Expendables