Sylvester Stallone’s Terrifying Struggle Before Fame: “It Was Going to Devour Me”

Nearly fifty years after first portraying the unforgettable Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone, who is set to be featured in a biopic, still holds a deep connection to the character. Indeed, the actor owes a lot to this role! Early in his film career, few believed in his potential success. Therefore, before he became the icon he is today, Stallone had to take on numerous odd jobs to make ends meet.

Stallone will never forget this experience!

Among Sylvester Stallone’s many job experiences, including his stint in adult films, one particularly memorable job wasn’t exactly pleasant. Appearing on the iconic Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the actor humorously recalled this stressful period when he was stringing together any job he could get: “When you’re broke, you’ll take anything.“

The following anecdote proves that Sylvester Stallone was apparently ready for anything, even the worst, to make ends meet. One summer, he was tasked with cleaning lion cages at a zoo. However, after three weeks on the job, the actor decided to quit, clearly unnerved by the company of the big cats: “I felt like that thing was going to eat me. I couldn’t take it anymore.“

“Hell,” recalls the Rocky star

And that risky job was not an isolated incident. Stallone later worked in a deli, where he was primarily responsible for slicing meat. According to him, this job was no less daunting than cleaning lion cages. Still with a sense of humor, he told Jimmy Fallon: “Never look at the bottom of the pot where the pastrami is cooking; you’ll see hell.“

Between the hungry lion cage and the questionable deli, Stallone clearly never shied away from rolling up his sleeves to support himself. These indelible memories illustrate the long road he traveled before becoming Rocky and Rambo. At that time, as he juggled various odd jobs, he likely couldn’t have imagined that decades later, a biopic would be dedicated to him.

This film, titled I play Rocky, is directed by Peter Farrelly—who is known for Green Book and There’s Something About Mary—and stars an unrecognizable Anthony Ippolito. The national release date is set for December 23rd, just in time for a Christmas treat!