What Sylvester Stallone has said about Rocky Balboa (film)
2 quotes · 2 episodes · Sep 26, 2026 – Sep 28, 2026
Sylvester Stallone, American actor, screenwriter and director known for the Rocky and Rambo franchises; author of the memoir The Steps, has been quoted on Rocky Balboa (film) 2 times in 2 episodes of On Purpose with Jay Shetty and The Daily, most recently on September 28, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.
In their words
Stallone says after an eight-year slump he wrote Rocky Balboa, a film about grief, which studios rejected before it became a hit.
“the studio said, You're over, and Rocky is dead. You both are finished. And I found one person who said, all right, let's just give it a try”
On Purpose with Jay Shetty: SYLVESTER STALLONE: “I Wasn’t Stupid. I Was Just Misunderstood.” (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 54:43
Stallone says studio heads told him he and Rocky were finished, and that writing Rocky Balboa at 60 was the hardest and proudest moment of his life.
“So the hardest and the proudest moment by far in my life is Rocky Balboa because nobody wanted it. I was done”
The Daily: Sylvester Stallone Hid His Struggles for Decades. Now He’s Coming Clean. (Sep 26, 2026) · Listen from 1:05:36
Episodes
SYLVESTER STALLONE: “I Wasn’t Stupid. I Was Just Misunderstood.”On Purpose with Jay Shetty · Sep 28, 2026 · 1 h 29 min
Jay Shetty interviews Sylvester Stallone about his painful childhood, rejection, creating Rocky, his parents, career slumps, health, marriage and his memoir The Steps.
Sylvester Stallone Hid His Struggles for Decades. Now He’s Coming Clean.The Daily · Sep 26, 2026 · 1 h 17 min
Sylvester Stallone tells Lulu Garcia-Navarro about his abusive childhood, anxiety, bulimia and steroid use, his rivalry with Schwarzenegger, and career collapses and comebacks.
Sylvester Stallone on other topics
- Rocky (1976 film) · 4 quotes
- Screenwriting and writer's block · 2 quotes
- Rejection · 2 quotes
- Child abuse · 2 quotes
- Marriage and long-term partnership · 1 quote
- Aging · 1 quote
- Forgiveness · 1 quote
- First Blood · 1 quote