Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone (born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, he won his first critical acclaim as an actor for his co-starring role as Stanley Rosiello in The Lords of Flatbush.
He subsequently found gradual work as an extra or side character in films with a sizable budget until he achieved his greatest critical and commercial success as an actor and screenwriter, starting in 1976 with his role as boxer Rocky Balboa, in the first film of the successful Rocky series (1976–present), for which he also wrote the screenplays. In the films, Rocky is portrayed as an underdog boxer who fights numerous brutal opponents, and wins the world heavyweight championship twice.
In 1977, he was the third actor in cinema to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. His film Rocky was inducted into the National Film Registry, and had its props placed in the Smithsonian Museum. His use of the front entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the Rocky series led the area to be nicknamed the Rocky Steps. Philadelphia has a statue of his Rocky placed permanently near the museum, and he was voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Up until 1982, his films were not big box office successes unless they were Rocky sequels, and none received the critical acclaim achieved with the first Rocky. This changed with the successful action film First Blood in which he portrayed the PTSD-plagued soldier John Rambo. Originally an adaptation of the eponymous novel by David Morell, First Blood’s script was significantly altered by Stallone during the film’s production. He would play the role in a total of five Rambo films (1982–2019). From the mid-1980s through to the late 1990s, he would go on to become one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors of that era by appearing in a slew of commercially successful action films which were however generally panned by critics. These include Cobra, Tango and Cash, Cliffhanger, the better received Demolition Man, and The Specialist.
He declined in popularity in the early 2000s but rebounded back to prominence in 2006 with a sixth installment in the Rocky series and 2008 with a fourth in the Rambo series. In the 2010s, he launched The Expendables films series (2010–2014), in which he played the lead as the mercenary Barney Ross. In 2013, he starred in the successful Escape Plan, and acted in its sequels. In 2015, he returned to the Rocky series with Creed, that serve as spin-off films focusing on Adonis "Donnie" Creed played by Michael B. Jordan, the son of the ill-fated boxer Apollo Creed, to whom the long-retired Rocky is a mentor. Reprising the role brought him praise, and his first Golden Globe award for the first Creed, as well as a third Oscar nomination, having been first nominated for the same role 40 years prior.
Acted in
The Epiphany
2025
Armored
2025
Alarum
2025
as Chester
Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons
2024
as Self
Sly
2023
as Self
Expend4bles
2023
as Barney Ross
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
2023
as Self - 'Stakar Ogord'
Arnold
2023
as Self
The Randall Scandal: Love, Loathing, and Vanderpump
2023
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Family Stallone
2023
as Kendisi
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
2023
as Stakar Ogord
Jean-Claude van Damme: Karate King
2023
as Self (archive footage)
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Tulsa King
2022
as Dwight 'The General' Manfredi
Tulsa King
2022
as Self - Executive Producer & 'Dwight Manfredi'
Samaritan
2022
as Joe Smith
The Making of 'Rocky vs. Drago'
2021
as Self / Rocky Balboa (archive footage)
The Suicide Squad
2021
as King Shark (voice)
Stallone: Frank, That Is
2021
as Self
Marvel Studios Legends
2021
as Stakar Ogord (archive footage)
40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic
2020
as Narrator/Self (archive footage)
One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz
2019
as Self
Rallying Cry
2019
as Jasper Reese
Rambo: Last Blood
2019
as John Rambo
Escape Plan: The Extractors
2019
as Ray Breslin
I Am Durán
2019
as Himself
Stallone, profession héros
2019
as Himself (archive footage)
Backtrace
2018
as Sykes
Creed II
2018
as Rocky Balboa
Escape Plan 2: Hades
2018
as Ray Breslin
John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs
2017
as Self
Animal Crackers
2017
as Bullet-Man (voice)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
2017
as Stakar Ogord
John Travolta, le miraculé d'Hollywood
2017
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
This Is Us
2016
as Sylvester Stallone
Ratchet & Clank
2016
as Victor Von Ion (voice)
Creed
2015
as Rocky Balboa
From Rocky to Creed: The Legacy Continues
2015
as Self
The Making of The Expendables 3
2014
as Self
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
2014
as Lincoln Hawk (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Expendables 3
2014
as Barney Ross
Reach Me
2014
as Gerald
And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
as Self (archive footage)
Grudge Match
2013
as Henry 'Razor' Sharp
Escape Plan
2013
as Ray Breslin
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
2013
as Self
Milius
2013
as Self
Bullet to the Head
2012
as James Bonomo
Gods of War: Assembling Earth's Mightiest Anti-Heroes
2012
as Himself
The Expendables 2
2012
as Barney Ross
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012
as (archive footage)
The Rocky Saga: Going the Distance
2011
as Self
The Real Rocky
2011
as Self
Zookeeper
2011
as Joe the Lion (voice)
From the Ashes: Post-Production and Release of 'The Expendables'
2010
as Self
Inferno: The Making of 'The Expendables'
2010
as Self
The Expendables
2010
as Barney Ross
Rambo: To Hell and Back - Director's Production Diary
2010
as Self
30 for 30
2009
as Self
Kambakkht Ishq
2009
as Sylvester Stallone
Bigger Stronger Faster*
2008
as Self (archive footage)
Rambo
2008
as John Rambo
Ecki's World
2007
as Self
Rocky Balboa
2006
as Robert 'Rocky' Balboa
Ali's Dozen
2006
as Self
The Opponents
2006
as Self (archive footage) / Rocky Balboa
Tribute To Burgess Meredith
2006
as Self
Hogan Knows Best
2005
The Contender
2005
as Himself - Boxing Mentor
Las Vegas
2003
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
2003
as Toymaker
Shade
2003
as Dean 'The Dean' Stevens
Taxi 3
2003
as L'espion (caméo non crédité)
Iron and Beyond
2002
as Self - Actor & Director
Liberty's Kids
2002
as Paul Revere
Avenging Angelo
2002
as Frankie Delano
"STARdate" with Ralf Moeller!
2002
as Self
Pet Star
2002
as Self - Judge
Afganistan: Land in Crisis
2002
as Self
D-Tox
2002
as Jake Malloy
Raw Iron: The Making of 'Pumping Iron'
2002
as Self
Driven
2001
as Joe Tanto
Get Carter
2000
as Jack Carter
CyberWorld
2000
as Weaver (voice)
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 2
1999
as Self - Special Guest Star
Junket Whore
1998
as Self
Antz
1998
as Weaver (voice)
Jackie Chan: My Story
1998
as Self
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
1998
as Self
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn
1998
as Sylvester Stallone
Cop Land
1997
as Sheriff Freddy Heflin
Men in Black
1997
as Alien on TV Monitor (uncredited)
Daylight
1996
as Kit Latura
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
A Century of Science Fiction
1996
as Self
Assassins
1995
as Robert Rath
Judge Dredd
1995
as Judge Joseph Dredd
Your Studio and You
1995
as Sylvester Stallone
The Specialist
1994
as Ray Quick
Demolition Man
1993
as John Spartan
Cliffhanger
1993
as Gabe Walker
HBO First Look
1992
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
1992
as Sgt. Joseph Andrew 'Joe' Bomowski
Two Rooms: A Tribute to Elton John & Bernie Taupin
1991
as Self - Guest
Oscar
1991
as Angelo "Snaps" Provolone
Rocky V
1990
as Robert 'Rocky' Balboa
Night of 100 Stars III
1990
as Self
Tango & Cash
1989
as Raymond 'Ray' Tango
Lock Up
1989
as Frank Leone
Rambo III
1988
as John Rambo
Over the Top
1987
as Lincoln Hawk
Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
1986
as Self
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
1986
as Self (archive footage)
Cobra
1986
as Lieutenant Marion 'Cobra' Cobretti
Rocky IV
1985
as Robert "Rocky" Balboa
Rambo: First Blood Part II
1985
as John J. Rambo
Terror in the Aisles
1984
as Deke DaSilva (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rhinestone
1984
as Nick
Electric Blue Special: Nude Celebrity Special
1984
Staying Alive
1983
as Man on Street (uncredited)
First Blood
1982
as John Rambo
Rocky III
1982
as Robert 'Rocky' Balboa
Escape to Victory
1981
as Captain Robert Hatch
Nighthawks
1981
as Deke DaSilva
Rocky II
1979
as Robert 'Rocky' Balboa
Paradise Alley
1978
as Cosmo Carboni
F.I.S.T.
1978
as John D. 'Johnny' Kovak
Auf los geht's los
1977
as Self
Rocky
1976
as Robert 'Rocky' Balboa
The Muppet Show
1976
as Sylvester Stallone - Special Guest Star
Cannonball
1976
as Mafioso
Farewell, My Lovely
1975
as Jonnie
Mandingo
1975
as Lynching Witness (uncredited)
Death Race 2000
1975
as Machine Gun Joe Viterbo
Capone
1975
as Frank Nitti
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
1975
as Youth in Park
No Place to Hide
1974
as Jerry Savage
The Lords of Flatbush
1974
as Stanley Rosiello
Kojak
1973
as Det. Rick Daly
Police Story
1973
What's Up, Doc?
1972
as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Klute
1971
as Club Patron (uncredited)
Bananas
1971
as Subway Thug #1 (uncredited)
The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker
1970
as Party Guest
Lovers and Other Strangers
1970
as Groomsman
M*A*S*H
1970
as Soldier (uncredited)
The Party at Kitty and Stud's
1970
as Stud
Downhill Racer
1969
as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
The Square Root
1969
The Oscars
1953
as Self
Dolph
as Self
Never Too Old to Die
Cliffhanger 2
as Gabriel 'Gabe' Walker
Scavenger Hunt
Untitled "Rocky" prequel
as Narrator
Samaritan 2
as Joe Smith
Hunter
as Nathaniel Hunter
Taming The Beast – The Emptiness Within
as Self
The Original Action Hero
as Self
Scarpa
as Gregory Scarpa
Jackie Chan: Down to Earth
as Self