Sylvester Stallone thrived even more after he created The Expendables, a film that united every leading action star in Hollywood. It changed his career, but it also changed his life, though in a not-so-good way.
The famed Rocky icon suffered injuries that left him needing immediate operations and a metal neck plate. His body was no longer the same after he finished filming The Expendables.
Sylvester Stallone’s Injury From The Expendables Altered His Whole Body
During the Season 2 premiere of The Family Stallone via Men’s Health, actor Sylvester Stallone confessed to the accident that happened to him while performing a fight scene with WWE star Steve Austin on the set of the first The Expendables installment.
“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.’ ”
He needed to undergo spinal fusion surgery, and in the episode, he was seen prepping for his seventh procedure. Stallone’s daughter, Scarlet, expressed her frustration over her father’s condition.
“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.”
Jennifer Flavin, Stallone’s wife, admitted it was a scary period in their family’s life. Every time the actor had to go under the knife, they felt afraid for his health.
“Sly tries to mask the pain, pretend like it didn’t happen. He doesn’t like people to know he’s had so many back surgeries. It’s a very scary for our family every time Sly has to go through surgery because you never know… no one knows. I hope this is the one to help him live a more comfortable life.”
But, Stallone is one tough cookie, and even after all the action films he did following The Expendables, he still managed to fight the bad guys and perform some of his own stunts.
Sylvester Stallone Likes to Suffer For His Movies
It’s a difficult time whenever Sylvester Stallone gets injured on the set, but he sees this as a good sign. Shockingly, the actor believes that if he does not get beaten down on the set, he thinks the movie will flop (via The Week):
“Whenever I don’t get injured, the film is a dud. I didn’t bleed on Rhinestone. I didn’t bleed on Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. They hurt in other ways. Those ones hurt the soul.”
This is rather a strange way to look at action films. Stallone once abused himself while filming Rocky – his diet consisted of 25 cups of coffee and oatmeal cookies. With his age now, it seems that Stallone needs to catch up on his health and recover as much as possible.
The Expendables is available to watch on Netflix.
