Sylvester Enzio Stallone[1] (/stəˈloʊn/; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone,[2][3] July 6, 1946) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer.
After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, he won his first critical acclaim as an actor for his co-starring role as Stanley Rosiello in The Lords of Flatbush.[4]
Stallone mostly only found gradual work as an extra or side character in films with a sizeable budget until he achieved his greatest critical and commercial success as an actor, starting in 1976 with his self-created role as the boxer Rocky Balboa, in the first film of the successful Rocky series (1976-2018). In the films, Rocky is portrayed as an underdog fighter that does battle with numerous brutal opponents, and wins the world heavyweight championship twice. The last two entries in the series are Creed and Creed 2, that serve as spin-off films focusing on Adonis Creed, the son of the ill-fated boxer Apollo Creed, whom the long retired Rocky is a mentor to. Reprising the role during the 2010s brought Stallone praise, and his first Golden Globe award for the first Creed, as well as a third Academy Award nomination, having been first nominated for the same role 40 years prior.[5]
Stallone had similar box-office success, portraying the PTSD plagued soldier John Rambo in the five Rambo films (1982–2019) and as mercenary Barney Ross in the three The Expendables films (2010–2014). He wrote or co-wrote most of the films in his three biggest franchises, and directed many of them too.
Stallone's film Rocky was inducted into the National Film Registry, and had its props placed in the Smithsonian Museum. His use of the front entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the Rocky series led the area to be nicknamed the Rocky Steps, and Philadelphia has a statue of his Rocky character placed permanently near the museum. It was announced on December 7, 2010 that he was voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the non-participant category.[6]
In 1977, Stallone was nominated for two Academy Awards for Rocky, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. He became the third man in history to receive these two nominations for the same film, after Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles
Early life
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone[2][3] was born in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York[8] on July 6, 1946,[9] the elder son of Francesco "Frank" Stallone Sr., a hairdresser and beautician, and Jacqueline "Jackie" Stallone (née Labofish; born 1921), an astrologer, dancer, and promoter of women's wrestling. His Italian father was born in Gioia del Colle, Italy and moved to the U.S. in the 1930s,[10][11] while his American mother is of French (from Brittany) and Ukrainian-Jewish (from Odessa) descent.[12][13][14][15][16] His younger brother is actor and musician Frank Stallone.
Complications suffered by Stallone's mother during labor forced her obstetricians to use two pairs of forceps during his birth; misuse of these forceps accidentally severed a nerve and caused paralysis in parts of Stallone's face.[17][18] As a result, the lower left side of his face is paralyzed (including parts of his lip, tongue, and chin), an accident which gave him his signature snarling look and slurred speech.[18][19] He was baptized Catholic.[20] His father moved the family to Washington, D.C. in the early 1950s to open a beauty school. In 1954, his mother opened a women's gym called Barbella's.[21] Stallone attended Notre Dame Academy and Lincoln High School in Philadelphia,[22] as well as Charlotte Hall Military Academy, prior to attending Miami Dade College and the University of Miami.[23]
Film career
Early film roles
While Stallone was in Switzerland, he played a restaurant patron, in a scene with Robert Redford and Camilla Sparv, in the sports drama, Downhill Racer (1969).[24][25] Stallone had his first starring role in the softcore pornography feature film The Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970). He was paid US$200 for two days' work.[26] Stallone later explained that he had done the film out of desperation after being evicted from his apartment and finding himself homeless for several days. He has also said that he slept three weeks in the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City prior to seeing a casting notice for the film. In the actor's words, "it was either do that movie or rob someone, because I was at the end – the very end – of my rope".[27] The film was released several years later as Italian Stallion, in order to cash in on Stallone's newfound fame (the new title was taken from Stallone's nickname since Rocky). Stallone also starred in the erotic Off-Broadway stage play Score which ran for 23 performances at the Martinique Theatre from October 28 to November 15, 1971, and was later made into the 1974 film Score by Radley Metzger.[28]
In 1972, Stallone appeared in the film No Place to Hide, which was re-cut and retitled Rebel, the second version featuring Stallone as its star. After the style of Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily?, this film, in 1990, was re-edited from outtakes from the original movie and newly shot matching footage, then redubbed into an award-winning parody of itself titled A Man Called... Rainbo.
Stallone's other first few film roles were minor, and included brief uncredited appearances in Pigeons (1970) as a party guest, Woody Allen's Bananas (1971) as a subway thug, in the psychological thriller Klute (1971) as an extra dancing in a club, and in the Jack Lemmon film The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) as a youth. In the Lemmon film, Jack Lemmon's character chases, tackles and mugs Stallone, thinking that Stallone's character is a pickpocket. According to actor Elliott Gould, Stallone confessed to being in MASH (1970) as an extra.[29] He had his second starring role in The Lords of Flatbush, in 1974.[18] In 1975, he played supporting roles in Farewell, My Lovely; Capone; and Death Race 2000. He made guest appearances on the TV series Police Story and Kojak.
Rise to prominence with Rocky
Stallone gained worldwide fame with his starring role in the smash hit Rocky (1976).[18] On March 24, 1975, Stallone saw the Muhammad Ali–Chuck Wepner fight. That night Stallone went home, and after three days[30] and 20 straight hours,[31] he had written the script, but Stallone subsequently denied that Wepner provided any inspiration for it.[32][33] Other possible inspirations for the film may have included Rocky Graziano's autobiography Somebody Up There Likes Me, and the movie of the same name. Wepner filed a lawsuit which was eventually settled with Stallone for an undisclosed amount.[33] Stallone attempted to sell the script to multiple studios, with the intention of playing the lead role himself. Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff became interested and offered Stallone US$350,000 for the rights, but had their own casting ideas for the lead role, including Robert Redford and Burt Reynolds. Stallone refused to sell unless he played the lead character and eventually, after a substantial budget cut to compromise, it was agreed he could be the star.[34]
Rocky was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay nominations for Stallone. The film went on to win the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Film Editing.
Following the success of Rocky, Stallone made his directorial debut and starred in the 1978 film Paradise Alley, a family drama in which he played one of three brothers who enter the world of wrestling. That same year, he starred in Norman Jewison's F.I.S.T., a social drama in which he plays a warehouse worker, very loosely modelled on James Hoffa, who becomes involved in the labor union leadership. In 1979 he wrote, directed and starred in the sequel to his 1976 hit, Rocky II (replacing John G. Avildsen, who won an Academy Award for directing the first film), which also became a major success,[18] grossing US$200 million. In 1981, he starred alongside Michael Caine and soccer star Pelé in Escape to Victory, a sports drama in which he plays a prisoner of war involved in a Nazi propaganda soccer game. That same year, he starred in the thriller Nighthawks, in which he plays a New York city cop who plays a cat-and-mouse game with a foreign terrorist, played by Rutger Hauer.
Continued success with more Rocky, Rambo and additional action roles
Stallone launched another major franchise success, starring as Vietnam veteran John Rambo, a former Green Beret, in the action-war film First Blood (1982).[18] The first installment of Rambo was both a critical and box office success. Critics praised Stallone's performance, saying he made Rambo seem human, as opposed to the way he is portrayed in the book of the same name. Three Rambo sequels, Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988) and Rambo (2008), followed. He also continued his box office success with the Rocky franchise and wrote, directed, and starred in two more 1980s sequels to the series: Rocky III (1982) and Rocky IV (1985). Stallone has portrayed these two characters in a total of eleven films. In preparation for these roles, Stallone embarked upon a vigorous training regimen, which often meant six days a week in the gym and further sit-ups in the evenings. Stallone claims to have reduced his body fat percentage to his all-time low of 2.8% for Rocky III.[35] Stallone met former Mr. Olympia Franco Columbu to develop his character's appearance for the films Rocky IV and Rambo II, just as if he were preparing for the Mr. Olympia competition. That meant two workouts a day, six days a week.
During this time period, Stallone cultivated a strong overseas following. He also attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, roles in different genres. In 1984, he co-wrote and starred alongside Dolly Parton in the comedy film Rhinestone, where he played a wannabe country music singer. For the Rhinestone soundtrack, he performed a song. Stallone turned down the lead male role in Romancing the Stone in order to make Rhinestone instead, a decision he later regretted.[37] In 1987, he starred in the family drama Over the Top as a struggling trucker who tries to make amends with his estranged son. These films did not do well at the box office and were poorly received by critics. It was around 1985 that Stallone was signed to a remake of the 1939 James Cagney classic Angels With Dirty Faces. The film would form part of his multi-picture deal with Cannon Films and was to co-star Christopher Reeve and be directed by Menahem Golan. The re-making of such a beloved classic was met with disapproval by Variety and horror by top critic Roger Ebert. Cannon opted to make Cobra instead. Cobra (1986) and the buddy cop action film Tango & Cash (1989), the latter alongside Kurt Russell, did solid business domestically and blockbuster business overseas, grossing over US$100 million in foreign markets and over US$160 million worldwide.
Stallone began the 1990s starring in the fifth installment of the Rocky franchise, Rocky V. This film brought back the original film's director John G. Avildsen. It was considered a box office disappointment.[38] He attempted the comedy genre, starring in two comedies during the early 1990s, the critical and commercial disasters Oscar (1991) and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992).
In 1993, he made a comeback with the hit Cliffhanger, which was a success in the US, grossing US$84 million, but even more successful worldwide, grossing US$171 million. Later that year, he starred with Wesley Snipes in the futuristic action film Demolition Man, which grossed over US$158 million worldwide. His string of hits continued with 1994's The Specialist (over US$170 million worldwide gross). In 1995, he played the futuristic character Judge Dredd (from the British comic book 2000 AD) in the eponymous film Judge Dredd. His overseas box office appeal saved the domestic box office disappointment of Judge Dredd, which cost almost US$100 million and barely made its budget back, with a worldwide tally of US$113 million. He also appeared in the thriller Assassins (1995) with Julianne Moore and Antonio Banderas. In 1996, he starred in the disaster film Daylight.
That same year, Stallone, along with an all-star cast of celebrities, appeared in the Trey Parker and Matt Stone short comedy film "Your Studio and You" commissioned by the Seagram Company for a party celebrating their acquisition of Universal Studios and the MCA Corporation. Stallone speaks in his Rocky Balboa voice with subtitles translating what he is saying. At one point, Stallone starts yelling about how can they use his Balboa character, that he left it in the past; the narrator calms him with a wine cooler and calling him "brainiac." In response, Stallone says, "Thank you very much." He then looks at the wine cooler and exclaims, "Stupid cheap studio!"[39]
Following his breakthrough performance in Rocky, critic Roger Ebert had stated that Stallone could become the next Marlon Brando, though he barely recaptured the critical acclaim achieved with Rocky. Stallone did go on to receive acclaim for his role in the crime drama Cop Land (1997), in which he starred alongside Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta. His performance led him to win the Stockholm International Film Festival Best Actor Award. In 1998, he did voice-over work for the computer-animated film Antz, which was a big hit domestically.
Declining years
In 2000, Stallone starred in the thriller Get Carter, a remake of the 1971 British Michael Caine film of the same name, but the film was poorly received by both critics and audiences. Stallone's career declined considerably after his subsequent films Driven (2001), Avenging Angelo (2002) and D-Tox (2002) were also critical and commercial failures. In 2003, he played a villainous role in the third installment of the Spy Kids series: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, which was a huge box office success (almost US$200 million worldwide). Stallone also had a cameo appearance in the 2003 French film Taxi 3 as a passenger.
Following several poorly reviewed box office flops, Stallone started to regain prominence for his supporting role in the neo-noir crime drama Shade (2003) which was only released in a limited fashion but was praised by critics.[40] He was also attached to star and direct a film tentatively titled Rampart Scandal, which was to be about the murder of rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. and the surrounding Los Angeles Police Department corruption scandal.[41] It was later titled Notorious but was shelved.[42]
In 2005, he was the co-presenter, alongside Sugar Ray Leonard, of the NBC Reality television boxing series The Contender. That same year he also made a guest appearance in two episodes of the television series Las Vegas. In 2005, Stallone also inducted wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, who appeared in Rocky III as a wrestler named Thunderlips, into the WWE Hall of Fame; Stallone was also the person who offered Hogan the cameo in Rocky III.[43]
Revisiting Rocky and Rambo
After a three-year hiatus from films, Stallone had a comeback in 2006 with the sixth installment of his successful Rocky series, Rocky Balboa, which was a critical and commercial hit. After the critical and box office failure of the previous installment Rocky V, Stallone had decided to write, direct and star in a sixth installment which would be a more appropriate climax to the series. The total domestic box office came to US$70.3 million (and US$155.7 million worldwide).[44] The budget of the movie was only US$24 million. His performance in Rocky Balboa has been praised and garnered mostly positive reviews.[45]
Stallone's fourth installment of his other successful movie franchise is titled simply Rambo. The film opened in 2,751 theaters on January 25, 2008, grossing US$6,490,000 on its opening day and US$18,200,000 over its opening weekend. Its box office was US$113,244,290 worldwide with a budget of US$50 million.
Asked in February 2008 which of the icons (Rocky or Rambo) he would rather be remembered for, Stallone said "it's a tough one, but Rocky is my first baby, so Rocky.
