Thu Jul 24 03:50:00 UTC 2025: ## Schwarzenegger Almost Rocked Alcatraz: Action Icon Passed on Cage Role in ‘The Rock’
**Hollywood, CA** – Action movie legend Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed he nearly starred in the 1996 blockbuster “The Rock,” a role ultimately made iconic by Nicolas Cage. According to Schwarzenegger, he was approached by producer Don Simpson with an incomplete script riddled with notes from Jerry Bruckheimer.
“He has 85 pages with him and there are handwritten notes all over it by Jerry Bruckheimer,” Schwarzenegger recounted in a 2012 interview. “He says, ‘Here, look at this script. But don’t read it! Just, here’s what the premise is…’ He was all over the place.”
Schwarzenegger, with a busy schedule, decided to pass on the underdeveloped concept, telling Simpson to “bake it some more.”
The role of Dr. Stanley Goodspeed ultimately went to Nicolas Cage, who had just won an Oscar for “Leaving Las Vegas.” Schwarzenegger admitted that the script was then reworked to better suit Cage’s talents, leading to a film he greatly admired.
“Even though I was not in it, Nicolas Cage did a fantastic job,” Schwarzenegger said on the New Heights podcast. “Sean Connery was great. The directing, the writing, everything was really a straight 10. So I really enjoyed the movie but that was one movie for instance that I thought I wished I would have taken.”
While Schwarzenegger regrets missing out on “The Rock,” he acknowledged the film’s success and the excellent performances of Cage and Sean Connery. It’s hard to imagine anyone but Cage as the reluctant hero navigating the dangerous mission to retake Alcatraz, but this anecdote offers a glimpse into what could have been.
**Catch “The Rock” on SYFY on Monday, July 21st. Check your local listings.**
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