Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King caused a boost to the subscription services on Paramount+. The successful series saw Stallone take on the role of Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a Mafia capo looking to rebuild his criminal organization in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Actor Jay Will plays Tyson, who becomes Dwight’s confidant and business partner. Will revealed that Stallone helped him play the character in the most authentic way.
While Tulsa King was a big hit for the streaming platform, critics were not entirely happy with the series. It received mixed reviews, where critics praised Stallone’s performance but bashed the story and dialogues in the series.
Sylvester Stallone Helped His Tulsa King Co-Star To Stay Grounded In His Role
Jay Will, Garrett Hedlund, and Max Casella attended Deadline’s Contenders TV event last April and talked in length about their series Tulsa King. All three actors play members of the Manfredi syndicate in the series and worked closely with Sylvester Stallone. Jay Will, who played Tyson, had nothing but great things to say about his working relationship with Stallone.
Will shared that Stallone made it easy for him to get into his role as a driver-turned-mafia member. While the role was relatable for Will from growing up in sketchy neighborhoods, he often would have to do things that weren’t of his personal nature. Whenever Will pushed himself in a way that didn’t fit the scenes they were doing, Stallone would point it out to him.
He revealed that Stallone could easily identify them, and The Expendables actor helped him to keep his role realistic and grounded. Will even added that Stallone is someone whom you would always keep close to you. The actor shared with Deadline:
“[He] made it easy for me to just do my own thing and be myself. There were a couple of times where he knew that I would do things that weren’t of my personal nature, and he would be like, ‘Yo, come on,’ whenever I would force or push [myself in a way that didn’t fit the scenario]. He could see right through it. And people like that, you always want to keep them close.”
Jay Will’s account of Stallone is totally different from how he is portrayed in the media. The Rocky star made headlines several times for his rude behavior on set, especially when actors got their scenes wrong. His Rocky and The Expendables co-star Dolph Lundgren once recalled an incident from set when Stallone was very harsh on him during a scene in the first Expendables film.
Lundgren told Graham Bensinger that Stallone yelled at him and made him do about 20 takes. The First Blood actor insulted Lundgren in front of the crew as well as the press present on set that day, sharing, “My grandmother could do it better than that. What the f*ck, what are you doing?”. Lundgren forgave him for the incident, but the description from Jay Will doesn’t describe this “crazy Italian.”
Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King Season 2 Has No Production Date Yet
Tulsa King Season 1 premiered on November 13, 2022, and fans have been waiting for more than two years for a season 2. The potential second season will pick from the incidents of the last episode of the first season, where Sylvester Stallone’s character faces legal trouble after being set up by Stacy. Much of the cast from the season is expected to return, with some new faces joining the crew.
Two major changes have already been made to the second season. The location has been shifted from Oklahoma to Atlanta, reportedly due to complaints from cast and crew. Also, Terence Winter, who served as the showrunner of the first season, stepped down from the position due to creative differences.
No official start date of production has been announced, but the filming is expected to start and conclude by 2024. Season 2 will hopefully hit Paramount+ in early 2025.
