Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone (born July 6, 1946, Manhattan, New York, U.S.) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director who rocketed to fame playing underdog boxer Rocky Balboa in the film Rocky (1976) and its sequels. Known for his distinctive slurred speaking style and muscular physique, Stallone cemented his status as an icon of the action genre by creating and starring in the Rambo film series, about a beleaguered Vietnam War veteran, which debuted in 1982. After appearing in a string of less-successful films in the 1990s and 2000s, he had a late-career resurgence in the popular action film The Expendables (2010), which he cowrote and directed, and its sequels.

Childhood

Stallone was born at a charity hospital in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City. Forceps used during his birth damaged a facial nerve, leaving him with a droopy left eyelid and a speech impediment. After spending much of his infancy in boarding care, Stallone rejoined his family and moved with them to Maryland when he was five. Stallone initially stayed with his father following his parents’ divorce in 1957, but at age 15 he joined his remarried mother in Philadelphia. Because of his history of expulsion from schools, he attended a private school for troubled teenagers.

Early career

Stallone became interested in acting while attending the American College of Switzerland, and he returned to the United States to study at the University of Miami. Just a few credits short of graduation, he moved to New York City, where he struggled to find work. In 1970 he made his screen debut starring in an adult film, The Party at Kitty and Stud’s (later renamed The Italian Stallion). He subsequently began appearing in more-mainstream fare, with uncredited roles in such movies as Woody Allen’s Bananas and Klute (both 1971). During that time Stallone moved to Hollywood, and his first role of note was in The Lords of Flatbush (1974), a dramedy about Brooklyn teenagers in the 1950s. Although more film and television work followed, Stallone struggled to break through.

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Action star: Rocky and Rambo series

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A match between Muhammad Ali and a relatively obscure boxer named Chuck Wepner inspired Stallone to pen the script for Rocky. Although producers originally wanted someone well-known to play the title character, Stallone refused to sell the story unless he could star as the underdog boxer Rocky Balboa. A critical and commercial success, the film was the highest-grossing movie of 1976. In addition, Stallone earned Academy Award nominations for his acting and screenplay, and the film won best picture honors. Eight sequels (1979, 1982, 1985, 1990, 2006, 2015, 2018, and 2023) followed, with Stallone directing four and writing five of them. The 2015 installment, Creed, was directed by Ryan Coogler and starred Michael B. Jordan as a young boxer being trained by an aging Rocky Balboa. Stallone received his third Oscar nomination, for best supporting actor, for Creed. His last appearance as Balboa was in Creed II (2018), which he cowrote.

Between the Rocky sequels, Stallone appeared in several forgettable action thrillers. In 1982, however, he starred as a former Green Beret named John Rambo in First Blood, which launched another highly successful series. He cowrote the first film as well as the subsequent installments—Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988), Rambo (2008; Stallone also directed), and Rambo: Last Blood (2019)—all of which featured physical prowess, dazzling special effects, and constant action.

Later film and television roles: Cliffhanger, The Expendables, and Tulsa King

Stallone continued that formula in such thrillers as Demolition Man (1993), Cliffhanger (1993), which he also cowrote, The Specialist (1994), Assassins (1995), Judge Dredd (1995), and Get Carter (2000). Although most of those films had only limited success at the box office in the United States, Stallone’s ability to attract audiences overseas proved enormous. In 2010 he cowrote, directed, and starred in The Expendables, a thriller about a team of mercenaries (played by Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Dolph Lundgren, among others). Popular with moviegoers, it was followed by three sequels (2012, 2014, and 2023).

Stallone occasionally ventured from the action genre, with mixed results. He starred in the comedies Oscar (1991) and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), both of which had modest success. He received better reviews for the 1997 drama Cop Land, for which he temporarily shed his sculpted physique and gained weight for his role as a powerless sheriff. In a comedic take on boxing, Stallone starred opposite Robert De Niro in Grudge Match (2013), about aging rivals who stage a rematch. In the TV series Tulsa King (2022– ), created by Taylor Sheridan, Stallone played a Mafia boss who, after being released from prison, attempts to rebuild his empire. He also wrote and directed Staying Alive (1983), a poorly received sequel to Saturday Night Fever (1977); both films starred John Travolta.

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Other work and honors

In addition to his film work, Stallone is a noted art collector and painter. In 1991 he became an investor in the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain; other actors involved in the venture included Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Stallone received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. In August 2025 U.S. Pres. Donald Trump announced that Stallone would be given a Kennedy Center Honor, an award granted by the Kennedy Center for lifetime artistic achievement, at a ceremony in December that year.