Rocky: Sylvester Stallone on the ‘Really Nasty’ Family Feud That Erupted With His Dad on Set

Sylvester Stallone opens up about the fallout he had with his father while on set. The two developed issues on the set of Rocky, where Stallone and his father, Francesco “Frank” Stallone Sr., had a feud.

Speaking with The New York Times, Sylvester Stallone discussed The Steps, his upcoming memoir, which covers his falling out with his father, among other topics. On the sets of Rocky, Frank Stallone Sr. was set to make a cameo appearance and serve as the bell ringer for the final match. The scene often devolved into chaos as Frank Sr. failed to ring the bell at the right time on numerous occasions.

Speaking about the specific incident, Sylvester stated, “He didn’t ring the bell properly, and I kept fighting and fighting and fighting. Everything’s choreographed. It’s one, two, three, four, bell. Not six, seven, eight, nine, ten.” He added, “And of course it ended up in an altercation by the end. It got really nasty. A really bad Italian drama.”

The 80-year-old revealed that even the late Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed, was baffled by Frank Stallone Sr.’s inability to keep up with the choreography’s rhythm.

Stallone admits he wanted his father to be proud of him

Despite the “nasty” feud, Sylvester Stallone said he sought his father’s approval. He wanted Frank Stallone Sr. to share in his success in the movie, and even be a part of it.

In the same interview, Sylvester explained, “It was like: I just want you to love me for a little bit. Like, look what I did! Share it with me. I know you thought I was a fool my whole life, but here we are. But for a moment I thought, Jesus, he’d be proud.”

Sylvester Stallone revealed that his father remained distant until they reconciled before his death in 2011. He also explained how conversations with his father would go, especially when the Creed star disagreed with him. “If he and I were talking and I said, ‘I don’t know if I agree with that,’ he’d start spinning his fork and suck his teeth, and you knew what was coming.”

Source: Comingsoon.net