Sylvester Stallone, 77, reveals tearing pectoral muscle ‘off the bone’ during Rocky II
Sylvester Stallone wasn’t about to let a muscle injury keep him from another shot at his star-making role.
The Academy Award nominee, 77, revealed that he tore his pectoral muscle ‘off the bone’ during a training accident before filming Rocky II, which influenced a key plot point in the 1979 sequel.
He recounted the story to pal Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harvey Levin for TMZ Presents Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons, noting that the injury occurred while working with his and Arnold’s mutual trainer, the late bodybuilding icon Franco Columbo.
Stallone said that the ‘very eccentric’ Columbo challenged him to a bench-pressing competition one day.
‘So, I go down, and it’s maybe only 200 [lbs]. I’m just warming up, and I hear a POW!’ he recalled, re-enacting the pain.
Sylvester Stallone revealed that he tore his pectoral muscle ‘off the bone’ during a training accident before filming Rocky II, which influenced a key plot point in the 1979 sequel; seen left with Carl Weathers right
Stallone said his ‘very eccentric’ trainer challenged him to a bench-pressing competition one day, ‘and I hear a POW!’; seen in December
‘I fall on the floor,’ Stallone continued. ‘And Franco goes, “Let me see.” He jams his fingers — I’ve torn my pec off the bone.’
The Expend4bles star added, ‘I mean, bad. I could hear it go rip, and he’s jamming his fingers. And I think I’m going to black out.
‘So, I go home. I feel like my career is over. I’m supposed to start Rocky II, direct it, everything in a month and a half,’ he said, noting he had to have the injury ‘sewn up.’
Stallone said, ‘Here’s the difference — and [Schwarzenegger] would have done the same thing… I can’t use this arm, so I’ll change it in Rocky. He’ll fight right-handed.’
In Rocky II, the titular Philadelphia boxer (Stallone) is at risk of losing his eyesight, so instead of fighting Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) with his usual Southpaw, he decides to use his right hand and protect his vulnerable eye.
‘Completely illogical,’ admitted Stallone. ‘But I said, “I’m not stopping this movie just for this.” And this was a bad injury.
‘I switched arms. During [Rocky II], that was one of the key things. But it’s interesting the way these incredible journeys happen,’ he told Levin. ‘But we don’t stop, we don’t quit.’
Stallone earned his first two Academy Award nominations for Rocky (1976), receiving nods for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.
After Rocky II, he reprised the role in Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990) and Rocky Balboa (2006), as well as the spin-off films Creed (2015) and Creed II (2018).
‘I can’t use this arm, so I’ll change it in Rocky. He’ll fight right-handed,’ he said, noting that it contributed to a ‘key’ plot point in the movie
He recounted the story to pal Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harvey Levin for TMZ Presents Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons
Stallone earned his first two Academy Award nominations for Rocky (1976), receiving nods for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay
Although he did not return for last year’s Creed III, it’s unclear if he will be in the upcoming Creed IV, which is currently in development.
Stallone previously explained that he didn’t agree with the ‘direction’ longtime producer Irwin Winkler and Creed star Michael B. Jordan were going with the franchise.
‘It’s a different philosophy,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2022. ‘I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist.
‘I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them going into that dark space. I just feel people have enough darkness,’ added Stallone.
Meanwhile, Stallone has been developing another Rocky installment since 2019, but the sequel has apparently stalled over his soured relationship with Winkler.
In July 2022, Stallone called out Winkler and Dolph Lundgren over their planned Ivan Drago spin-off