The Career of Sylvester Stallone
There is no debate that Sylvester Stallone is etched in the history of film with his little movie that could — Rocky. While the star has had plenty of success since, Stallone will always feel that he will always be measured by that film. Down the line, Stallone became an icon in the action film genre and his name would also become synonymous with explosions and gunfights. This is especially since he went toe-to-toe with another muscular icon of the genre, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
However, while Schwarzenegger was an icon in his own right, the former bodybuilder isn’t particularly known for dabbling in more dramatic fare. Whereas Stallone also had the Rocky series, he had the opportunity to take certain career risks.
Sly being set back eight years?
While Stallone has opened up in the last few years with a Netflix documentary (he also just turned 80!), he has also supported his daughters’ podcast Unwaxed, which is hosted by Sistine and Sophia Stallone, by appearing on an episode for an in-depth interview. Stallone would open up about making a decision that he felt set his career back eight years — starring in a dramatic role in James Mangold’s Cop Land. Stallone explained,
I had a real down period, say around ’95, when I did Cop Land. ’95, ’96. And I said, ‘Oh, let me do something really off, out of my comfort zone.’ And I did it. And I was very happy with the project, but actually it set me way back”
He continued,
The studios are going, ‘Why would you do that, man?’ You did that for nothing. Why wouldn’t you just do an action film? I said, ‘because I was gonna do it, I was going to do an action film next.’ I was just trying to prove a point to myself and whoever cared.”
Then, he reveals,
He goes, well that doesn’t make us look good because you’re doing this for free, and why would we pay you anyway. It began a very bad spiral for about eight years”
Stallone in Drama
Fast forward years later and Stallone would receive accolades for playing Rocky again in Ryan Coogler’s Creed, which won him the Golden Globe and got him an Academy Award nomination. In the late 90s, the Schwarzenegger and Stallone brand of action was starting to wane and his decision to do Cop Land was largely praised by audiences and critics alike, as many cited the movie as a reminder that Stallone can do drama. Perhaps the suits in Hollywood saw this as a detriment for his career, but do you think Sly could have reinvented himself in more crime dramas rather than all-out action?
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