Fascinating Stories About Sylvester Stallone, Hollywood's Most Macho Star

After the success of Rocky, Stallone was in high demand. He became one of three people to be be nominated for Best Actor and Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards - a distinction he shares with Orson Welles and Charlie Chaplin. Stallone recalled that Chaplin wrote him a letter after he lost the Best Actor award, telling him, "Rocky reminds me of a little character I used to play. We'd love for you to come to Switzerland and visit." But Chaplin passed before that visit could happen.

Stallone indicated he never understood why Chaplin wrote him or why he received a similarly themed note from Frank Capra. Capra comforted Stallone after his loss, advising him to, "take heart, angels make note of things like that. Because it's fitting that the character you created, would lose, that other people would take all the glory." 

Yet another celebrity contacted Stallone, this time by telephone. Elvis Presley called him and said, "I'd like to screen Rocky. We'll rent the theater in Memphis, and we'll watch the film." But Stallone was too shy to ever take Elvis up on his offer. 

After watching a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner on March 24, 1975, Stallone had an idea for a screenplay. He was inspired by Wepner's efforts, the determined yet outmatched "Bayonne Bleeder" from New Jersey. Wepner went 15 rounds against Ali, the same number of rounds Rocky Balboa would later fight against Apollo Creed.

Stallone spent three days writing the first draft of Rocky, taking few to no breaks. After he was done, he gave the 90-page script to his agent who shopped it out to producers. With several interested parties, Stallone - down to his last $100 - also insisted on starring in the film.

As negotiations continued, the offer for the screenplay rose to as much as $400,000. However, Stallone accepted $25,000 for the screenplay and the role as the movie's namesake.

Right before Rocky became such a success, Sylvester Stallone had to sell his dog, Butkus. He sold Butkus for $40, later repurchasing him with money he made from selling his screenplay. Stallone paid $15,000 to get his dog back - an amount that was, "worth every penny." 

Butkus made his way onto the big screen, playing Rocky Balboa's dog, but the movie also featured two turtle companions. Named Cuff and Link, the turtles went home with Stallone after the first Rocky and he has continued to care for them.

Both Cuff and Link appeared in Creed 2, 44 years after their onscreen debut. 

In the midst of his parents' troubled marriage, Sylvester Stallone spent his first five years living in foster homes in Hell's Kitchen. As a young boy, Stallone's distinct facial features resulted in bullying, prompting him to get into numerous fights. He was suspended often and had poor grades, eventually getting kicked out of several schools.

A testament to his bad behavior, Stallone once said, "When I was in junior high school, the teachers voted me the student most likely to end up in the electric chair."

After his parents divorced, Stallone moved to Philadelphia to live with his mother. There, he went to a school for troubled youth. Later, as a "straight-D student," his mother sent him to a private college in Switzerland. He studied drama before transferring to the University of Miami, where he focused on the dramatic arts and began writing.

While doing press for Rambo V: Last Blood in Cannes, France, in May 2019, Stallone recalled his first interactions with Dolph Lundgren. As the antagonist in Rocky IV, audiences weren't supposed to like Ivan Drago and, from Stallone's recount, he didn't like Lundgren either.

This was by design. When Stallone first saw him, he thought Lundgren, "was like the real Terminator, and I go, ‘I hate this friggin’ guy.' He’s just too perfect, too good looking. And if I loathe him, I’m sure the world will. He’s not really, but he looks like something that’s a thousand years in the future. This is not a guy you see waiting on your table."

Stallone knew Lundgren was perfect to play Drago, the ideal "superhuman being... someone who would be overwhelming... someone who is literally perfect. Indestructible. Shoulders, calves, forearms, giant butt, neck, back, everything." One day, while shooting, Lundgren hit Stallone, "so hard he almost stopped my heart." As a result, Stallone challenged his co-star:

I told him, "Why don’t we just do it? Just try to knock me out. Really cut loose as hard as you can." That was a really stupid thing to say. Next thing I know, I’m on a low-altitude plane to the emergency room, and I’m in intensive care for four days.

In the '70s, Sylvester Stallone auditioned for a part in The Godfather, but he was unable to nab a part in the epic. Stallone was devastated but did well for himself with the success of the Rocky movies, among other films like 1982's First Blood. In addition to writing and starring in his movies, Stallone had started directing, taking the helm for Rocky II (1979) and Rocky III (1982). He also directed (and had a cameo in) Stayin' Alive (1983), the sequel to Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta.

By 1983, Stallone was on the short-list to direct the third Godfather movie. He was also in talks to act in the film, although he didn't think he would be the star. Rather, he'd co-star with Travolta, who was also put for part in the epic.

In the end, the deal fell through and Stallone was neither in the movie nor did he have anything to do with the film's direction.