Sylvester Stallone is loved and admired by almost everyone who has watched Rambo but he took a while to get into the spotlight. See how he became the only actor to star in box office No. 1 film for six decades in our Hollywood spotlight.
Early Start
Sylvester Stallone got his signature snarl and slurred speech due to the use of forceps during birth. The defects caused other children to bully him and he found peace in bodybuilding. From 1965 to 1967, the young Sylvester attended the American College of Switzerland before returning to the US to get a B.A degree.
At the beginning, he struggled with small parts in movies like the soft-core 18+ film, The Party at Kitty and Stud’s (1970), The Klute (1971) and Bananas. He lived in the same apartment as his girlfriend. He took odd jobs and frequented the library to improve his writing skills.
Stallone almost quit acting when he lost job as an extra in ‘The Godfather’. Instead got a role in the film, ‘What’s Up, Doc?’ Where he was hardly noticed.
He got a major break after his lead role in the movie, ‘The Lords of Flatbush (1974) and worldwide success came for his role in the movie, ‘Rocky’. Sylvester Stallone wrote the script for Rocky and went around trying to sell the script to producers that might cast him for the lead role.
He eventually got cast and went on to write, produce, and star in other sequels. Sylvester moved on to bigger roles and directed movies that became both critical and commercial successes.
Crashing Career
For half a decade, Sylvester’s acting career met a decline. By 2000, his movies, ‘Get Carter, ‘Driven’, Avenging Angelo, and D-Tox were all hated by the critics and audiences.
But fortunately, he rebounded. He took a three-year break from acting and returned to play a villainous role in the third Installment of the Spy Kids. His comeback became successful with the sixth installment of ‘Rocky’.
In the fourth edition of the film, ‘Rambo,’ broadcast in 2008, Stallone had another hit as Rambo. In 2009, he wrote, starred, and directed another film, ‘The Expendables’ with other celebrities. Critics loved the movie and it went straight to number one on Box office. However, it still owed $2 million to O2 Filmes company.
Sylvester was involved in ‘Rambo’ and ‘The Expendables’. In 2019, another sequel to Rambo, ‘Rambo: Last Blood’ had over $18 million for its opening weekend in the US and $91 million around the world. In 2022, Stallone played the Samaritan in the movie with same name that gives a dark interpretation of the superhero genre.
Awards
In 1984, Sylvester became a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. He joined the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010 and won the Golden Globe Award for the Best Supporting Actor-Motion Picture in 2015. Another remarkable award is the Heart of Hollywood Award from the board of Governors of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2016.
Recent Work
The Evil Touch (1973), The Lords of Flatbush (1974), Rocky (1976), F.I.S.T. (1978), First Blood (1982), Rhinestone (1984), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Cobra (1986), Over the Top (1987), Rambo III (1988), Rocky V (1990), Cliffhanger (1993), Driven (2001, also produced), The Expendables 2 (2012), Homefront (2013, also produced), The Expendables 3 (2014), Creed II (2018, also produced), Rambo: Last Blood (2019) Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story (1985), The Contender (2006–2009), Creed (2015), Strong (2016), Ultimate Beastmaster (2017), Samaritan (2022), Creed III (2023) and his newest Television Series on Paramount + called Tulsa King.
Sylvester gives a thrilling performance in all his movies and still has a lot more for us under wraps. You can stay updated on all his upcoming projects on social media.
