Sylvester Stallone wasn’t going to let a muscle injury stop him from getting another chance at his role as a star.
The 77-year-old Oscar nominee revealed that he tore his pectoral muscle “off the bone” in a training accident before filming Rocky II, which influenced a major plot point in the 1979 sequel.
He told the story to friend Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harvey Levin TMZ presents Arnold & Sly: rivals, friends, iconsnoting that the injury occurred while working with his and Arnold’s joint trainer, the late bodybuilding icon Franco Columbo.
Stallone said that one day the “very eccentric” Columbo challenged him to a bench press competition.
“So I go down, and there may only be 200 of them [lbs]. I’m just warming up and I hear a POW!’ he remembered, replaying the pain.
Sylvester Stallone revealed that he tore his pectoral muscle ‘off the bone’ in a training accident before filming Rocky II, which influenced a major plot point in the 1979 sequel; seen on the left with Carl Weathers on the right
Stallone said that one day his “very eccentric” trainer challenged him to a bench press competition, “and I hear a POW!”; seen in December
“I fall to the ground,” Stallone continued. “And Franco says, ‘Let me see.’ He’s clenching his fingers – I’ve torn my sternum from the bone.’
The Expend4bles star added: “I mean, bad. I could hear it tearing, and he clenched his fingers. And I think I’m going to black out.
‘So I’m going home. I feel like my career is over. I have to start and direct Rocky II, all in a month and a half,” he said, noting that he had to have the injury stitched up.
Stallone said: ‘This is the difference – and [Schwarzenegger] would have done the same thing…I can’t use this arm so I’ll change it to Rocky. He will fight right-handed.”
In Rocky II, the titular Philadelphia boxer (Stallone) is in danger of losing his sight, so instead of fighting Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) with his usual Southpaw, he decides to use his right hand and protect his vulnerable eye.
“Completely illogical,” Stallone admitted. “But I said, ‘I’m not stopping this movie just for this.’ And this was a serious injury.
‘I switched arms. During the day [Rocky II], that was one of the most important things. But it’s interesting how these incredible journeys happen,” he told Levin. “But we don’t stop, we don’t give up.”
Stallone earned his first two Academy Award nominations for Rocky (1976), receiving nods for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.
After Rocky II, he reprized the role in Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990) and Rocky Balboa (2006), as well as the spin-off films Creed (2015) and Creed II (2018). ).
“I can’t use this arm, so I’ll turn it into Rocky.” He will fight right-handed,” he said, noting that this contributed to an “important” plot point in the film
He told the story to friend Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harvey Levin for TMZ Presents Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons
Stallone earned his first two Academy Award nominations for Rocky (1976), receiving nods for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay
While he didn’t return for last year’s Creed III, it’s unclear if he’ll appear in the upcoming Creed IV, which is currently in development.
Stallone previously explained that he disagreed with the ‘direction’ longtime producer Irwin Winkler and Creed star Michael B. Jordan went with the franchise.
“It’s a different philosophy,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2022. ‘I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist.
“I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them to go into that dark space. I just feel like people have enough darkness,” Stallone added.
Meanwhile, so has Stallone developing a new Rocky episode since 2019, but the sequel has apparently stalled due to his soured relationship with Winkler.
In July 2022, Stallone called out Winkler and Dolph Lundgren over their planned spin-off from Ivan Drago.