Sylvester Stallone is one of the most recognizable faces in the world. An actor, writer, and director, he has made a dramatic mark on the movie industry, becoming a leading figure in Hollywood. Some of the biggest action movies of the last four decades have been the work of the 73-year-old. He has been directly responsible for blockbusters such as Rocky, Rambo, and The Expendables, along with a whole host of other hits.
With anyone who has been involved in the show business as long as Stallone, there are plenty of interesting stories about his work. Of course, the fact that he is so involved in most of the movies he stars in also ensures there are lots of behind the scenes facts featuring Stallone. Even his biggest fans might not know about some of these informational nuggets.
15 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Had The Biggest Special Effect Ever
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had one of the most impressive visual effects of all time. To create the images of Ego in his planet form, the crew had to produce the biggest ever visual effect in any movie up until that point. It contained an impressive trillion polygons in total.
14 Chuck Norris’ Wife Suggested The Joke About The Famous Actor In The Expendables
Anyone who has been on the internet since around 2005 will be aware of the Chuck Norris jokes. In a nod to the memes, Sylvester Stallone included such a joke in The Expendables. What fans of the film may not know is it was Norris’ own wife who suggested the snake variant of the gag in the movie.
13 Rocky Was Intended To Die At The End Of Rocky V
By the time Rocky V came out in movie theaters, the boxer Rocky Balboa had already been through plenty of adventures. That’s why Sylvester Stallone felt it was a good time to draw the series to a conclusion and kill off the character. The initial script called for Rocky to die at the hands of street thugs but this was changed during filming
12 Wesley Snipes’ Martial Arts Moves Were So Fast In The Demolition Man, They Would Blur On-Screen
Wesley Snipes played the villainous martial arts expert in the Sylvester Stallone movie Demolition Man. However, he was such an accomplished fighter thanks to his years of practicing karate, that the cameras could not capture his movement properly. His hands and feet would blur as they were too fast, forcing the crew to ask Snipes to purposely slow down his blows.
11 Gianni Versace Designed Costumes For Judge Dredd But The Producers Rejected Them
When it came to designing the look of the famous comic book character in Judge Dredd, the producers decided to give designer Gianni Versace the first opportunity. Unfortunately, the fashion designer did not come up with any concepts that would work well in the movie. All of his drawings were rejected in favor of a more traditional look.
10 James Gunn And Edgar Wright Collaborated On The Soundtrack For Vol. 2
While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was in production, Edgar Wright was working on his hit movie Baby Driver. Although both directors planned on making music a central part of the experience, they collaborated with each other to make sure that each film featured different tracks.
9 Mickey Rourke Appeared In The Expendables To Say Thanks To Stallone
Mickey Rourke only appeared in The Expendables as a way of saying thank you to Sylvester Stallone. Rourke’s career had hit a roadblock until Stallone offered him a role in Get Carter, a gesture that Rourke believes helped ultimately kickstart his revival in Hollywood.
8 Rambo is Actually Based On A Book And A Real Person
Despite the fact that Rambo is such an action orientated and violent franchise, it actually began life as a novel by David Morrell. He released the book in 1972 and the movie came a decade later. The character was also based on a real life soldier.
7 David Bowie Was Meant To Have A Cameo In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
David Bowie’s music is such a good fit for the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise that director James Gunn wanted the musician to appear in a cameo. However, Bowie sadly passed away in 2016 before he had a chance to film his part. The Starman’s music was used extensively during promotional features for the film though.
6 Stallone Wanted Jackie Chan To Play The Villain In Demolition Man
Wesley Snipes was not Sylvester Stallone's first choice for playing the villain in Demolition Man. In fact, he wanted noted martial artist and actor Jackie Chan for the role. However, Chan turned down the role because he did not feel comfortable playing a bad guy when his fans were used to him being a protagonist.
5 Carl Weathers And Dolph Lundgren Did Not Get Along
Rocky IV saw the introduction of Dolph Lundgren’s character Ivan Drago to the franchise. However, both he and Carl Weathers seemingly had a bitter relationship. According to multiple reports, the pair of actors did not get on and often argued on set. Stallone had to act as a mediator between the pair to keep shooting on track.
4 Stallone Hated The First Cut Of Rambo: First Blood So Much That He Wanted To Destroy The Film
When the first cut of Rambo: First Blood was complete, Stallone and his agent were aghast. The movie was such a disaster that he even contemplated buying the film from the studio so that it would never be released, fearing it could ruin his career. The three-hour draft was eventually cut down to just 93 minutes before release.
3 Stallone Was Genuinely Scared During The Cryogenic Freezing Scene In Demolition Man
According to Sylvester Stallone, Demolition Man was a difficult shoot and he experienced the scariest moment of filming a movie in his career during it. The actor said that filming the scene where he is in the cryogenic freezing film was the toughest of his life. He explained that it “was probably the worst five hours I’ve ever had on movie sets… I was terrified.”
2 Stallone And Director Danny Cannon Constantly Feuded On The Set Of Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd was widely criticized after it was released. Part of the reason it may have not been quite as good as it could have been was because Sylvester Stallone and director Danny Cannon argued during production so much. The two men had very different ideas about the direction of the movie, with Cannon preferring a gritty film in contrast to the action-orientated movie Stallone wanted.
1 The Actor Wrote The Script For Rocky In Less Than Four Days
Sylvester Stallone is known not just for his work as an actor but also for writing and directing many of his own movies. He actually wrote the script for the first Rocky film in just three and a half days. However, by the time it came to filming, the studio had heavily reworked the story and only around 10% of the original script survived in the final cut.