When it comes to action movie actors, Sylvester Stallone is right up there with the best of them. The success of “Rocky” catapulted Stallone to superstardom, and he went on to become one of the highest-paid action performers of the 1980s and 1990s. His work includes the scripts and/or production of several blockbuster series, such as “Rocky,” “Rambo,” and “The Expendables.” Stallone’s films have grossed over $4 billion throughout the world as of this writing. Unlike most Hollywood stars, Sylvester has written, produced and/or directed several of his major franchise movies.
Sylvester Stallone Salary Highlights
Multiple studios were interested in Stallone’s “Rocky” script after he wrote it in just three days. United Artists was the front runner but they wanted it as a starring vehicle for Robert Redford or James Caan. He persisted in badgering the movie’s producers, Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, until they agreed to cast him. He worked on the film for a meagre $23,000. About $110,000 in current dollars. With only a $1 million budget, the film made $225 million worldwide.
He made $3.5 million from “First Blood” in 1982. Inflation increased his $10 million salary to $25 million the next year, and he was given Producer credit for the film “Staying Alive.” With the 1984 film “Rhinestone,” he earned $4 million and his second Producer credit. The following year, as Producer of Rocky IV, he made $12 million. From “Over the Top,” he made an additional $12 million. He made $16 million for Rambo III. With each of these films, Sylvester made between $15 and $16 million:
- Lock Up
- Tango & Cash
- Rocky V
- Oscar
- Demolition Man
- Judge Dredd
- Assassins
- The Specialist
- The Expendables I
- The Expendables II
Stallone made $20 million for “Driven” and another $20 million for “Eye See You,” each grossing $17.5 million on their own. Sylvester Stallone made $300 million in cinema salary alone between the years of the 1970s and 2012. His salary during this time period was substantial, amounting to around $500 million in today’s currency after correcting for inflation.
Sylvester Stallone Early Life
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (later shortened to Sylvester) was born on July 6, 1946, in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. He is the oldest child of Francesco “Frank” Stallone Sr., a hairdresser of Italian descent, and Jackie Stallone, an astrologer and dancer. Younger brother Frank Stallone is also an entertainer and performer.
Sylvester’s “snarling” appearance and somewhat slurred speech are both the result of a paralysis of the bottom left side of his face, which he suffered during birthing. Stallone’s parents’ tumultuous relationship forced him to spend time in foster care. They had a divorce a while after that. Before attending the University of Miami, Stallone studied acting at the American College in Switzerland. He didn’t finish college but instead travelled to New York to become an actor.
Sylvester Stallone Career
After being evicted from his residence, Stallone took the lead in “The Party at Kitty,” a softcore adult film. After working for only two days, he was able to earn $200. His early film roles were small and unimportant; one of them was an unnamed cameo in Woody Allen’s 1971 picture Bananas. In 1975, he developed a script about a low-level criminal with big dreams of becoming a professional boxer after being inspired by a flight he’d taken to see Muhammad Ali fight Chuck Wepner.
It has been said that Stallone would not have sold the script if he had not been set to act in the movie. He didn’t give up until he contacted producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff who were open to casting him as Rocky Balboa. The film “Rocky” was released in 1976. As a result of his leading part, Stallone was catapulted to international stardom and A-list status overnight.
The movie was well received by critics and audiences alike, grossing $117 million worldwide and earning ten nominations at the Academy Awards. Rocky won the Academy Award for Best Picture over other classics including All the President’s Men, Network, and Taxi Driver. Additionally, it won prizes for both Best Film and Best Film Editing. After the popularity of Rocky II in 1979, Stallone released two additional Rocky films in the 1980s.
The action film “Rambo: First Blood,” starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, was a critical and commercial success when it was released in 1982. The original film spawned three sequels. He trained extremely hard for both Rocky and Rambo, with two workouts per day, six days per week, plus additional evening exercise. He decreased his body fat percentage to an all-time low of 2.8% for the third Rocky sequel.
In 1987, Stallone starred in “Over the Top,” a box office flop that also received negative reviews. Rocky V, released in the 1990s, was a commercial flop. His early 1990s comedic film efforts, “Oscar” and “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot,” were both critically and commercially panned by audiences and critics alike. Although Stallone’s career got off to a good start with 1993’s “Cliffhanger,” which made $170 million at the box office, and 1996’s “Daylight,”
which was critically panned, by the early 2000s, he was starring in a series of commercial and critical flops. Stallone took a three-year vacation, and in 2006 had a comeback with the sixth “Rocky” film. With a budget of only $24 million, he wrote, directed, and starred in the box office smash “Rocky Balboa,” which grossed $155.7 million around the world. In “Rambo,” the fourth film in the franchise, he returned to the role of Rambo.
His 2010 film “The Expendables,” which he also wrote, directed, and starred in, was an instant hit with audiences and opened at No. 1 at the box office. In 2012, a sequel was published, and it too was met with universal acclaim and became an instant movie office smash. Adding a spin-off picture, Creed, to the Rocky franchise in 2015, Stallone effectively introduced another instalment to the series.
Filmmaker Ryan Coogler centred the story around Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed, the son of Rocky’s adversary Apollo Creed. Stallone was nominated for his third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and got rave reviews for his performance. The 2018 sequel, Creed 2, opened to $35.3 million after receiving mostly excellent reviews. On September 20, 2019, the fifth Rambo film was released to the public, and it has already made over $91 million around the world.
Sylvester Stallone Other ventures
In March of 2018, Sylvester partnered with Braden Aftergood to establish Balboa Productions, a film production company. Creed II, Rambo V, and The Expendables 4 are just a few of the many films on the studio’s huge production docket. Stallone has not only acted in movies, but he has also sang on the soundtracks. He also sang the theme songs for the first and fourth Rocky films, “Gonna Fly Now” and “Take Me Back,” respectively. Moreover, in 1984’s “Rhinestone,” he performed duets with Dolly Parton. His business, Tiger Eye Productions, promotes boxing events.
Sylvester Stallone Personal Life
Sylvester Stallone tied the knot with Sasha Czack in 1974. They raised two kids, the elder Sage Moonblood (who passed away at age 36 from heart problems) and younger Seargeoh. Streep and Czack’s 1985 divorce was public knowledge. From 1985 until 1997, Stallone was married to Brigitte Nielson. Sylvester wed Jennifer Flavin that same year (1997!). Sophie, Sistine, and Scarlet were their three daughters. Jennifer’s divorce petition with Sylvester was publicised on August 24, 2022. The divorce papers were submitted to the court in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Sylvester Stallone Real Estate
Sometimes I wake up I feel like doing nothing. Just relaxing. Just very true. If anyone says different, they’re lying – it’s human nature. Then you roll over, get a little mad at yourself, and realize to get anywhere you’ve got to make a deposit in the GOAL BANK. #KeepPunching pic.twitter.com/HWQofsol82
— Sylvester Stallone (@TheSlyStallone) January 28, 2020
Sylvester Stallone tied the knot with Sasha Czack in 1974. They raised two kids, the elder Sage Moonblood (who passed away at age 36 from heart problems) and younger Seargeoh. Streep and Czack’s 1985 divorce was public knowledge. From 1985 until 1997, Stallone was married to Brigitte Nielson. Sylvester wed Jennifer Flavin that same year (1997!). Sophie, Sistine, and Scarlet were their three daughters. Jennifer’s divorce petition with Sylvester was publicised on August 24, 2022. The divorce papers were submitted to the court in Palm Beach County, Florida.