It might be difficult for 40-somethings to grasp this, but there is now a whole generation who didn’t grow up with Stallone as one of the world’s biggest action heroes. Here’s a recap of life lessons from a career primarily forged in the 70s and 80s.
Stallone didn’t sell out. . . Except to escape being homeless
Stallone wrote the award winning script for Rocky by himself. Pretty impressive, but here’s the thing – although he wanted to be the lead actor, the studios weren’t so keen, preferring an established actor like Robert Redford to the unknown Stallone. But Sly played hard ball and eventually was allowed to have his movie and act in it.
Before Stallone became Rocky though, he had a short lived two day career as a soft porn actor. Apparently the future multi-millionaire was in financial trouble and had been homeless for a short period, he decided to act in a soft porn film for $100 a day (don’t judge) so that he could use the cash to get off the street.
Stallone shows that there’s a thin line between bravery and stupidity
Stallone is famous for doing his own stunt work, which is admirable. His pursuit of purity though has landed him in hospital. During the filming of Rocky IV he told Dolph Lundgren to hit him as hard as possible. Stallone ended up in ICU. Age doesn’t seem to have enlightened Sly either as during the filming of a fight scene in The Expendables between Sly and Stone Cold Steve Austin, Stone Cold ended up breaking Stallone’s neck, forcing the actor who is old enough to receive a pension in many countries, to get a metal plate inserted in his neck.
We suppose Stallone should be thankful it wasn’t Chuck Norris.
When your old – be wine not milk
It’s difficult to think that Sly has gotten better with age, not because his work is bad, but because with the Oscar winning Rocky he set such high standards. But somehow he has gotten over a few critically rubbished movies (think Rocky V) and managed to get some of the biggest egos together for the expendables as well as add a successful conclusion to the Rocky saga in 2006.
