Sylvester Stallone Details Tense On-Set Clash With Father During Rocky Filming
Sylvester Stallone opens up about a volatile on-set altercation with his father during the filming of the 1976 classic Rocky in his new memoir, The Steps.
POLICY WIRE — New York, USA — Sylvester Stallone has opened up about a volatile confrontation with his father, Frank Stallone Sr., while filming the 1976 cinematic classic, Rocky. The actor shared details of the incident in a recent interview with The New York Times ahead of the release of his upcoming memoir, The Steps, which is scheduled for publication in the UK on 29 September.
Stallone, 80, explained that he had cast his father in a cameo role as the bell ringer during the film’s climactic fight scene between Rocky and Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers. The three-time Oscar nominee admitted he hoped the gesture would bridge the emotional gap between them, noting that he simply wanted his father to feel proud of his accomplishments.
The situation quickly deteriorated when Frank Sr. failed to ring the bell at the correct time, causing the choreographed fight to drag on far longer than intended. Stallone recalled that the confusion left Carl Weathers bewildered, eventually leading to a heated and nasty altercation that the actor described as a bad Italian drama.
Reflecting on his upbringing, Stallone characterized his father as a cold and tough figure prone to explosive outbursts. He recounted a childhood defined by periods of silence followed by sudden violence, noting that he learned early on how to defend himself against his father’s large hands.
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Despite their difficult history, Stallone revealed that the two shared a moment of genuine love in 2011 while his father was on his deathbed following a prostate cancer diagnosis. He noted that he intentionally left many of the more painful details out of his memoir to avoid creating a pity party.
The interview also touched upon Stallone’s past struggles with body image and health. The actor disclosed that he suffered from bulimia and an obsession with fitness following the success of Rocky, reaching a point where he maintained only 2.6 percent body fat while filming Rocky III.
Stallone further addressed the use of performance-enhancing substances during his career, asserting that maintaining such a physique for months at a time required the use of additives and drugs. He stated that he finally felt a sense of liberation from his body-worship obsession after being cast as a vulnerable character in the 1997 film Cop Land.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
