Kris Kristofferson was an inspiration for the industry in many ways. Marvel fans will always remember him for his role in Blade, while others might commemorate his contributions to country music. For David Morrell, though, Kris Kristofferson will always be the man who inspired Rambo.
Kris Kristofferson: A Versatile Actor
2024 has been a rough year for Hollywood. We’ve lost some of the most memorable icons of our generation this year. Legends like Donald Sutherland, Carl Weathers, and even James Earl Jones left us this year. In September, Kris Kristofferson joined the group of departed celebrities of 2024, leaving an indelible mark on fans of country music and 70s Westerns.
Kristofferson was well-known among movie fans for his flexible acting skills. The Texan actor could jump between genres with an ease that would leave most actors shocked, to say the least. One second, he was starring in A Star is Born, only to jump into Planet of the Apes next and then onto Fallout: New Vegas. Kristofferson had a filmography that most actors would die for.
The Role of Abraham Whistler in Blade
For comic book fans, Kristofferson’s most notorious role came in 1998 when he first embodied Abraham Whistler in the Blade live-action trilogy. As Blade’s mentor and father figure, Abraham quickly became a fan favourite thanks to his rugged charm and cowboy persona.
With the upcoming Blade MCU film coming next year, and the cast still unannounced save for Mahershala Ali and Mia Goth, one can’t help but wonder, who will they pick to play Abraham Whistler? After all, some actors just become the characters they embody. It happened to Kristofferson in the same way as it did to Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Terminator or Sylvester Stallone and Rambo.
Kris Kristofferson as the Inspiration for Rambo
That last part brings us to a recent X post by the author of First Blood and creator of Rambo, David Morrell. According to him, Sly Stallone wasn’t even close to being his favourite pick for the role.
Morrell, who published First Blood in 1972, joined the mourning of Kris Kristofferson’s passing with his X followers. In one of his latest posts, the author revealed that Kristofferson was his main inspiration to create Rambo’s appearance in the novel. He imagined the actor as Rambo “With his beard and long hair as he’s described in my book.”
Rambo’s Character in the Novel vs. Film
Though the movie was a fairly straightforward adaptation of Morrell’s novel, director Ted Kotcheff and his team took some creative liberties to make the Rambo character more sympathetic to viewers. The book paints him more as a troubled war veteran, while the movie makes him seem more like a misunderstood hero.
In the novel, Rambo’s description fits more with what most people would see as a disheveled Vietnam veteran. The novel mentions multiple times Rambo has long, messy hair and a beard – which wasn’t exactly what you’d expect from a war veteran in post-Woodstock America. Think Barry Gibb on a bad hair day. Kristofferson, at the time, was more of a singer-songwriter than the skillful actor we know today, so his “hippy” looks would have gone perfectly with Morrell’s vision for Rambo.
Stallone vs. Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson’s looks inspired Rambo in the novel, but that doesn’t mean Sylvester Stallone was the wrong pick for the role. Far from it, actually. At the time of First Blood‘s release (the movie, not the book,) Stallone was on the rise as one of the most coveted action stars in Hollywood. Kristofferson, on the other hand, preferred more sentimental roles.
While Rambo is a troubled and emotional character, the movie had to appeal to action fans looking for “Rocky with guns,” so more action scenes had to be included in the plot. The result is a film that fits Stallone’s acting range perfectly, culminating in a timeless classic that would be hard to imagine with any other actor in the lead role.
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Tell us, do you think Kris Kristofferson would have done a good job playing Rambo?
First Blood |
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A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers. |
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| Studio: The Wallis Interactive, Carolco Pictures, Anabasis Investments, N.V., Orion Pictures |
| Running Time: 93 minutes |
| Release Date: October 22, 1982 |
| Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy |
| Director: Ted Kotcheff |
| Writers: Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, Sylvester Stallone |
| Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller |
| Box Office: $125.2 million |
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