Sylvester Stallone remembers the moment his career nearly ended
Reflecting the tenacity of his most famous character, Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone has overcome much hardship throughout his life. Notably, his early rise to prominence as the creator and star of Rocky was a feat of perseverance and compromise, and later in life, he had to deal with the tragic loss of his son, Sage.
The runaway success of Rocky in 1976 led to a boxing movie franchise, but it also opened Stallone’s career up to new opportunities, including his famous roles in Rambo, First Blood, and Cliffhanger.
However, in the new TMZ special Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons, Stallone opened up on an injury that almost ended his career before it reached a comfortable stride. Following Rocky, Stallone began training with bodybuilder Franco Columbu to get into shape for the sequel. During one of his intense sessions, Stallone tore a pectoral muscle to the extent that it detached from the bone.
Speaking in the special, the actor described the moment that almost put his career in jeopardy. “So, I go down, and it’s maybe only 200 [lbs],” he remembered. “I’m just warming up, and I hear a POW! I fall on the floor.”
Tough man Columbu saw the injury as trivial and nearly made things worse while inspecting it. “Franco goes, ‘Let me see.’ He jams his fingers — I’ve torn my pec off the bone. I mean, bad. I could hear it go rip – and he’s jamming his fingers,” Stallone continued, “and I think I’m going to black out.”
Since Stallone had torn his left pec, he decided to persevere with Rocky II but changed his character to a right-hander. “I go home. I feel like my career is over,” he admitted. “I’m supposed to start Rocky II, direct it, everything in a month and a half. Here’s the difference — and [Arnold Schwarzenegger] would have done the same thing. I can’t use this arm, so I’ll change it in Rocky. He’ll fight right-handed.”
In Rocky II, Balboa encounters eyesight issues that force him to change up his stance to fight Apollo Creed. This wasn’t the original plan, but a rewrite to accommodate Stallone’s recent injury. “Completely illogical,” Stallone reflected on the plot change. “But I said, ‘I’m not stopping this movie just for this.’ This was a bad injury … I switched arms.”
Stallone remembers the injury looming heavily throughout Rocky II, but miraculously, he reeled out another all-time classic. “It’s interesting the way these incredible journeys happen,” he concluded. “But we don’t stop, we don’t quit.”
Watch Sylvester Stallone in a scene from Rocky II below.
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