“Is the pressure really worth the pain?”: Sylvester Stallone Sacrificed Everything For ‘Rocky’ Only To End Up Alone in a “Hollow” House
The triumphant success and glory that Sylvester Stallone received in his career after Rocky took a massive toll on his personal life and left the legendary star lonely and empty.
It wasn’t smooth sailing for the actor at all as he sacrificed almost everything to achieve the fast-moving Hollywood lifestyle. However, in the end, Sylvester Stallone is left with nothing but feelings of regret and loneliness as he finds himself alone in a hollow house after all the fame.
Sylvester Stallone Sacrificed Almost Everything To End Up Alone
Director Thom Zimny has extraordinarily explained how the events and people influenced Sylvester Stallone in his professional and personal life. In the Netflix documentary Sly, the actor revealed that all the fame and success he generated didn’t help him. The personal struggles with his family and abandoning the promises he made to make himself a household name ended him up in an enormous but “hollow” house.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger in Sly reflects on Sylvester Stallone’s sacrifices and mentions: “Sly climbed the ladder I would say very quickly in show business. Very few actors have the discipline to produce and to direct. You have to think about it 24 hours a day 7 days a week.” The Expendables star was highly determined to do what he embraced and it was filmmaking that didn’t allow him to make time for his family. He added in Sly:
“It’s so hard to do a sequel. it’s harder and harder, each one. It’s always exhausting. People are always in your ear all the time, then you get the criticism. And you say, Is the pleasure really gonna be worth the pain?”
Explaining that fame and success can sometimes take a heavy toll on your personal life, leaving you all alone and with a feeling of regret. Sylvester Stallone revealed that as he went on taking different roles, he was gradually losing the “freshness of a hungry artist”. He wasn’t feeling the way he felt in the first two Rocky films and eventually started developing fear. Stallone tried to showcase his life by directing Rocky according to his vision.
Sylvester Stallone Almost Died While Filming Rocky IV
As Sylvester Stallone mentioned losing energy to do hit films back to back, he also talked about his near-death experience while filming Rocky IV. While Stallone was under the limelight for being a 1980s superstar, he once thought that it was almost time to meet the angels. The Oscar-nominated star received a formidable punch from his costar, Dolph Lundgren, during the boxing match between his character, Rocky Balboa, and Lundgren’s Ivan Drago. The Escape Plan star added in Sly:
“Later that night, my heart started to swell, which happens when the heart hits the chest. And then my blood pressure went up to 260, and they thought I was going to be talking to angels. Next thing I know, I’m in intensive care where I’m surrounded by nuns. I thought, ‘Okay, that’s curtains.”
The Paradise Alley star pushed himself too hard in his career which eventually led him to get five operations. Stallone mentioned: “I push it, that’s why I’ve had five back operations. I knew.” Knowing the fact that he should go a little slow and stop challenging his limits, Sylvester Stallone admits that wasn’t a good idea.
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Sly is available to stream on Netflix.
