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WhileRockypushed Sylvester Stallone’s career to new heights, the success of the sports drama was a double-edged sword for Stallone’s career moving forward. Considering each of his new releases afterRockywas put on the same pedestal asRockyby the media, it infuriated theRamboStar as it created the notion of Stallone being a one-trick pony among the masses.
As a result, whenRocky 2, which debuted three years after the first one, was seen as the movie that put Stallone back on the map, the veteran action star didn’t see eye to eye with that sentiment.
Also read:“I’m not going to be a part of that”: Sylvester Stallone Forced Director To Change Rambo’s Original Ending For An Honorable Cause
Sylvester Stallone Took Offense to Comments of Fans DeemingRocky 2as His Career-Saver
Releasing in 1979,Rocky 2didn’t fall much short of its predecessor, making $200M at the box office. But even though the movie was Stallone’s second biggest hit up to that point, which was seen as the movie that saved his career,Sylvester Stallonedidn’t agree with that sentiment. Speaking on the matter, the actor explained that followingRocky‘s huge boom upon its release, everything that came after that was seen as an anti-climax.
He further expressed that his releases post-Rocky turned in decent profits, but the media led many to believe that his career was coming to a standstill by manipulating expectations. He toldRoger Ebert:
“You know what I think happened? After Rocky, I was almost set up in the eyes of the media to make a flop. The last two years have been pretty tough, public image wise. I said some things that did not exactly endear me. My ego got blown out of proportion,”he said.” They all ask me, Will Rocky II save your career? Is this my comeback, they wanna know? Will it pull my career out of the toilet? I didn’t think I was doin’ so bad. I’ve never made a film that lost money.
Fortunately, afterRocky 2, it didn’t take long for Stallone to break the image of being a one-trick pony, as withFirst Blood, Stallone would cement himself as one of the biggest names of the ’80s.
Also read:“I was never the same again”: Sylvester Stallone Never Fully Recovered After Going Through Hell For One of His Best Action Movies
Sylvester Stallone Put Himself Through the Wringer forRocky 2
AlthoughRocky 2picked up from where the last one left and did succeed in living up to its predecessor, Sylvester Stallone had to put himself through the wringer to achieve those results. Often considered the most brutal entry in the franchise, Stallone, who sat on the director’s chair for the movie, was fixated on making the fight sequences as realistic as possible. This resulted in a torturous experience for the actor, as hits from Carl Weathers would require Stallone to get surgery.
“I got all beat up inside, I had to have an operation to splice things back together,”he said.“The mouthpiece saved my teeth. For this one, basically what I need is a mouthpiece for my whole body.”
Also read:Doctor Has Warned Fans to Not Follow Sylvester Stallone’s One Risky Diet Hack in Rocky That Could Land You in Hospital
And even thoughRockyremains a major cornerstone in Sylvester Stallone’s career, his impeccable run in Hollywood is much more than the guy in boxing shorts.
Rocky IIis available to stream on Max.
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2539
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
