The betrayal Sylvester Stallone could never forgive: “It’s a volcanic moment”
Before he became a complete joke, Sylvester Stallone used to be one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, a time when his mere presence in a project would be enough to send it right to the top of the box office.
He ruled the action movie roost, his rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger generating some of the biggest headlines of the 1980s and early 1990s, and while there are many movies that helped Sly get to where he is today, none of them would have happened had it not been for Rocky.
Prior to his breakout role, Stallone had been scratching and clawing as an actor, taking a huge risk with this boxing drama, which he wrote, and by turning down a massive offer for the rights, insisting that he also play the lead role. He eventually got his way, and it changed his life forever; everything about the film, from its climactic final to its legendary score, is now seared into the public consciousness, and Stallone has never looked back, maybe because it led to one of the most traumatic nights of his life.
Rocky was such a big sensation that it caught the eye of the Academy, finding itself nominated for a slew of Oscars, including ‘Best Picture’, which it ended up winning. Stallone himself was nominated for both ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Original Screenplay’, a rarity, and this should have been the highlight of his life, but he couldn’t enjoy the moment fully because his parents refused to go to the ceremony with him.
“It’s a volcanic moment, and then it was very sad,” he told CBS Mornings, “You’re at the Oscar[s], and they don’t want to go… You realise that, at that moment, that you’re never ever going to come to terms with this… It’s a real learning lesson… Kids are the same as soft clay. They really are. You mould them, and you dent them, and you hurt them, or you drop them off the table, and they’re not the same shape anymore. I still walk around with it.”
Both of Stallone’s parents were extremely colourful characters; his mother, Jackie, was, among other things, a trapeze artist, a women’s wrestling promoter, and an astrologer. As for his father, Frank, he made his money by opening a chain of barber shops, and you can actually see him in Rocky as the timekeeper for the big fight. Both of them lived into their 90s, by the way, so expect Sly to make it to at least 105.
The star has spoken about his turbulent relationship with his parents multiple times, describing his father as both physically and emotionally abusive and has recalled long nights spent listening to his mum and dad fight while he was trying to sleep.
Unfortunately, Stallone wouldn’t get near the Oscars again for several decades, with his next nomination in 2016, when he was in the running for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Rocky spin-off Creed; by this point, his father was dead, and his mother was very elderly.
It’s sad that his parents weren’t there to witness his greatest triumph, but on the plus side, at least they also weren’t present for his multiple Razzie wins.
