Sylvester Stallone is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in Hollywood. He established himself as an action star in the entertainment industry with movie franchises like Rocky and Rambo. He is one of the only two actors in the history of cinema to have starred in a box office number-one movie for six consecutive decades. However, the price he has paid for this success and stardom might not be something every actor is willing to pay.
After years of struggling to make a breakthrough as an actor, when Sylvester Stallone got the chance to prove his worth in Rocky (1976), there was no looking back. The actor now has an enviable fan following and a reputation only a few have in the industry. However, behind the glitz and glamour of this reputation lie dark secrets.
The Dark Secret Behind Sylvester Stallone’s Success
Sylvester Stallone is one of those few people from the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City’s Manhattan borough who made it big in the entertainment industry. Most popularly known for his action films, the actor has sustained multiple injuries while working in these movies.
Although it is no secret that action stars often injure themselves while performing their stunts (cue: Jason Statham and Tom Cruise), the number of times Sylvester Stallone has had to undergo surgery to recover from those injuries might be concerning for some fans.
In the latest season of his Paramount+ reality show The Family Stallone, the Cliffhanger star opened up about his injuries while preparing to undergo a seventh operation on his back. In the episode (via USA Today), his wife, Jennifer Flavin, said that Stallone “tries to mask the pain” because he “doesn’t like people to know he’s had so many surgeries.”
His daughter Scarlet recalled that “my whole childhood, he was in pain.” Flavin further said this is extremely scary for the actor’s family as they never know what will happen in the surgery and whether or not Stallone will make it through.
Sylvester Stallone Has Some Advice for Actors Who Do Their Own Stunts
Having our favorite action stars run across the screen on building tops or jumping from the roof of one building to another looks cool, but it is half not as cool to find out that they injured themselves to entertain the fans. These stunts put the actors’ lives at risk and also threaten the existence of a great performer and someone’s beloved family member.
If there is one thing that Sylvester Stallone has learned the hard way, it is the fact that he should not be performing his stunts. So much so that he has even advised other actors to refrain from doing so. In the aforementioned episode of The Family Stallone, he said:
“There’s something romantic about doing your own stunts. There’s something very unromantic about after doing your own stunts. Here we go ahead, it’s back operation season.”
Stallone has undergone one too many surgeries for his advice to be taken for granted. Hopefully, the action stars will consider his valuable advice and refrain from doing their own stunts.
