Sylvester Stallone is one of the action movie genre’s best actors. Having starred in a string of now-classic action films back in the 70s and 80s, the American-born Italian star is currently experiencing a sort of ‘renaissance’ when it comes to his career in the entertainment world.
Not an easy feat, considering the many forgotten ‘big names’ that populated the action genre years ago. Here are the 72-year-old’s reflections on his long and successful career in Hollywood.
Career Renaissance
Though his popularity peaked in the 80s, it seems like Stallone is preparing to make a comeback. Just last year, another film was added in his Rocky series of movies with the premiere of ‘Creed II’. The film did well in the box office grossing $214 million and was also met with positive reviews from many critics.
Meanwhile, his other iconic movie series, Rambo, is also getting another installment this year. Its trailer was recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival. ‘Rambo: Last Blood’ will premiere in September more than 10 years after the last Rambo film was produced in 2008.
But Stallone’s lineup of films doesn’t stop there. His latest series of movies, The Expendables, has been greenlit to get another installment with ‘The Expendables 4’. No release date has yet been announced for it though.
On His Iconic Films
During a speaking engagement at Cannes, Stallone looked back at some of his iconic films. Speaking about ‘Rocky‘, the actor said that it’s more than just a simple boxing movie. It was also an intimate look at a lonely man whose life changes when he suddenly finds a woman.
And critics seem to agree. The film was notably nominated for 10 Oscar awards and won the Best Picture honor that year. Stallone then revealed how ‘Rocky’ was never meant to be as big as it was given it relatively small budget.
In fact, the production was so short in cash that some of the actors used clothes they own as costumes. They couldn’t even afford to hire a dog and had to use Stallone’s real-life pet. What more, Stallone was almost not cast in the titular role despite writing the movie’s script.
Dark Times
The actor also reflected on some of the darker times of his career in the movie industry. In the late 80s and 90s, Stallone starred in a couple of less than well-received films like ‘Tango & Cash‘, ‘Rhinestone’ and ‘Over the Top’. He partly blames the industry’s tendency to blindly take on work for these missteps in his filmography.
Still, Stallone makes sure that he doesn’t shy away from his own failures and shortcomings. He’s well aware of his acting range’s limitations and knows that it’s best if he sticks to what he’s good at. In the end, the actor still believes that it only takes one good idea among a hundred bad ones to create a successful film.