Tulsa King stars reveal how their special connection to Stallone helped their casting on the show

Tulsa King, the Paramount+ crime drama which follows Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi, has a talented cast, which has made the show quite a success. Besides Sylvester Stallone, the show also includes other well-known actors like Garrett Hedlund and Frank Grillo who play Mitch Keller and Bill Bevilaqua respectively.

But there are interesting stories behind these actors getting cast in Tulsa King. Garrett Hedlund and Frank Grillo recently spoke with Collider at the FanX's Atlanta Comic Convention, where they revealed how their connection to Stallone helped them get their roles on the crime drama show.

People behind some of Tulsa King's casting

Tulsa King follows the story of a man, Dwight Manfredi, who was once a in an American Mafia, then had to serve twenty-five years in prison, and then when he came back, was asked by his boss to start business in Tulsa. The show follows Manfredi as he hires new people, develops a business and faces obstacles in his way.

Garrett Hedlund plays Mitch Keller in the show, as associate of Manfredi, while Frank Grillo plays Bill Bevilaqua, an antagonist. They both have interesting stories behind getting cast in the show.

At the FanX's Atlanta Comic Convention, Hedlund said to Collider that he met Sylvester Stallone when he was preparing to play Patroclus in Troy, alongside Brad Pitt, who played Achillies. Hedlund said to Collider:

“I met Sly when I was 18 and in training for Troy. He trained at the same trainer, and Warner Bros. was trying to make me look convincing as Patroclus and it blew my mind how sweet Sly was.”

He continued:

“This trainer could only see one person at a time, he was very successful working with people in the industry, so I come in and wait for Sly to finish his session, somebody like Pete Sampras is waiting for his session. I introduced myself to Sly, said I was 18 and who I was meeting and what I was doing, and he gave me time. He never had to do that, and I'll cherish him for that.”

Grillo had also met Stallone years ago. Grillo played Cyrus Hanks in Homefront, a film Stallone had wrote for Jason Statham. After that, as Grillo told Collider:

“Well, for me, I had become friends with Sly. He called my partner Joe Carnahan. He called and invited us round to watch a movie he had done. I had done a movie he'd written for Jason Statham called Homefront. So one day, Rocky just called me and invited me over to his house, and we became friends. A couple years after that, we met at an event and he said he might have a part in a show for me.”

He continued:

“Rocky was a big inspiration. Being an Italian from New York, this guy was like a god, and there he is. It's absolutely surreal when you get to meet these people.”

The show Stallone had told Grillo he had for him, turned out to be Tulsa King and Grillo went on to play Bill Bevilaqua, a mob boss and Dwight's rival from Kansas City.

First two seasons of Tulsa King is streaming on Paramount+. A third season is currently in production.

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