James Dean was going to play Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes you but when he died the role what lesser known actor?

The lesser-known actor who took over the role of Rocky Graziano in "Somebody Up There Likes Me" after James Dean's death was Paul Newman.

While Newman was already gaining recognition in Hollywood at the time, he wasn't the big star he later became. "Somebody Up There Likes Me" was a significant film in his career, and it helped solidify his position as a leading man.