Sylvester Stallone is one of the finest action stars of this generation, and he has proven time and time again that he can perform his own stunts. However, there were times in the past when he had been very reckless in doing fight sequences that resulted in his body permanently sustaining damages.
The actor has incurred many injuries over the course of his lengthy career in Hollywood, but one of them totally changed his overall physicality, and he never recovered from it. Even today, he still feels the repercussions of his decisions from back then.
Sylvester Stallone Was Never The Same After The Expendables
Sylvester Stallone spoke on his reality show The Family Stallone via New York Post and opened up about the injury he suffered while filming the first The Expendables movie.
“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 1.’ After that film, it was never physically the same. I’ve warned people: Don’t do your own stunts.”
The actor went under seven back operations after the incident, but to make light of the situation he joked that if studios need a remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, he’s ready to play Quasimodo. His wife, Jennifer Flavin, confessed it was a scary period for her family every time Stallone goes under the knife.
“Sly tries to mask the pain, pretending like it didn’t happen. 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.”
Their daughter, Scarlet, echoed the same sentiment and recalled how she grew up seeing her father always enduring pain and injuries due to his line of work.
“It’s really hard to see my father go through yet another painful operation. My whole childhood, he’s been 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.”
Despite the many broken bones he’s had, Stallone admits he loves to embrace his inner kid the more he grows older. The only time he feels his real age is because of his injuries.
Sylvester Stallone Broke His Neck For A Scene In The Expendables
In another interview with FHM via Unilad, he revealed receiving a fracture in his neck after the stunt he did with wrestler Steve Austin.
“Actually, my fight with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin was so vicious that I ended up getting a hairline fracture in my neck. I’m not joking. I haven’t told anyone this, but I had to have a very serious operation afterwards. I now have a metal plate in my neck.”
Stallone’s dedication to The Expendables movie already cost him his health, and it’s quite sad to see that despite all the sacrifices he made for the franchise, he was forced to drop it in the end.
The Expendables is available to watch on Netflix.
