Actor Sylvester Stallone has a piece of advice for actors who love doing their own stunts on their action-filled movies. Needless to say, whenever you hear the word ‘Stunts’ your mind automatically goes to the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. Tom Cruise himself. Apart from him, there are many other actors in Hollywood who find it thrilling to perform their own stunts, including Charlize Theron and Jason Statham.
However, no matter how much adrenaline may come from filming dangerous action sequence, Sylvester Stallone believes that no one should do their own stunts. In fact, he learned this the hard way while filming a fight scene for one of his most popular films which led to the actor obtaining serious injuries.
Sylvester Stallone’s Advice for Every Action Star
Season 2 of The Family Stallone has finally been released and let’s just say that the fans of reality T.V. were not left disappointed. During one of the episodes of the series (via People), Sylvester Stallone got candid about the time he received an unforgettable injury on the sets of Expendables while filming a fight scene with co-actor, Steve Austin, who is a WWE legend himself.
Stallone recalled,
“I did stupid stuff. I was directing ‘Expendables’ and, like an idiot, I’m doing take 10, take whatever, and I remember one slam and I could actually feel one bang. Steve knew. I never recovered from [‘Expendables’]. After that film, it was never physically the same. So, I warn people, ‘Don’t do your own stunts.’”
The scene which made Stallone rethink his choices involved Austin body-slamming the actor and throwing him against a stone wall. This resulted in Stallone dislocating his shoulder. He also ended up fracturing his neck and had to have a metal plate implanted into his neck and spinal fusions.
Sylvester Stallone’s Injuries Were Hard on His Family
It goes without saying that when you get hurt or when you go through something terrible, it not only affects you, but it also affects the people who love you. Similarly, Stallone’s family had to go through watching him deal with such intense pain as he went through surgery after surgery. In fact, owing to his injuries on The Expendables’ set, the Rambo actor underwent seven surgeries.
His wife, Jennifer Flavin, stated, “He doesn’t like people to know he’s had so many back surgeries. It’s very scary for our family every time Sly has to go through surgery, because you never know…no one knows.”
Stallone’s daughter, Scarlet Stallone also added,
“It’s really hard to see my father go through yet another painful operation. My whole childhood, he was in pain. He did everything he could to push through the pain and be present, but I couldn’t imagine every waking moment you are just hurting.”
Stallone was in his early 60s, when the mishap took place on the sets of The Expendables. That one incident was enough for the actor to realize that his well-being and his family’s ease was more important than performing his own stunts in his films.
You can stream The Family Stallone on Paramount+ and The Expendables is available to rent/buy on Prime Video.
