One of the biggest action stars from the 80s and 90s, Sylvester Stallone has surely given some of the most entertaining films to the silver screen. Earning the title of a living icon, The Italian Stallion is not only a successful actor but also a successful filmmaker as well. From writing and starring in the Rocky film series to starring in the Rambo film series, and several other action flicks that will be perfect for weekends.
Sylvester Stallone is an action titan in his own right, as he has a resume full of action films that people will grow bored of. While there are no written rules to qualify oneself as an action star. The Escape to Victor actor has a strongly unpopular opinion about being an action star, and his comments have taken a slight dig at other action stars like Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Sylvester Stallone’s Opinion on Being An Action Hero
From living on the streets of New York to becoming one of the biggest action stars of this generation, the action star’s path to stardom was not easy. Sylvester Stallone has been busy promoting his Netflix documentary, Sly which is set to release this November. While he was promoting the film at the Toronto International Film Festival, he gave an exclusive interview to THR, where he talked about the way of being a tough guy, and what he thinks an action star should be like.
“Action heroes should shut their mouth. Action guys who perform heroic deeds don’t talk about it. They just do it. And it’s that simple. That’s the kind of thing you have to be really ruthless and not care about how foolish you look… That’s when I realized what it is to lose yourself in acting. I didn’t care. I literally was this guy for that moment.”
While the term ‘action star’ can be subjective, the strong opinion of Sylvester Stallone takes a dig at Jackie Chan who is known more for doing epic stunts and jaw-dropping action sequences in his films. However, the actor relies on physical comedy to make his roles memorable. Jackie Chan’s performance as Chief Inspector Lee in the Rush Hour series is memorable, as he constantly engages with Chris Tucker’s Detective James Carter in banter and has more dialogue compared to his other action films.
Similarly, Sylvester Stallone’s rival Arnold Schwarzenegger is also a silent type hero but he has done a number of action comedy films like True Lies, Junior, Kindergarten Cop, Twins, and many more where he broke his stereotype image of being a silent tough guy, and become a hilarious guy leading to humorous interactions with other characters.
While Stallone knows how to be an action hero, there are no fixed criteria that determine which qualities lead to being an action star, as Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger have played different roles that have made their performance in those films memorable, something that viewers would love to see for a change.
Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Created Morality Among The Viewers
Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky is a legendary sports film that was not only written by the actor but he also starred in it. He knew the film had a massive potential as he rejected a fat paycheck for the script because he wanted to play the lead role of Rocky Balboa. Naturally, he settled for a smaller paycheck and it paid back with huge returns. During an interview with BBC, the 77-year-old actor talked about the problems that led him to create one of the most legendary sports films of this generation.
“I felt at the time that cinema, at least the movies that I had been seeing, were at an all-time low. Everything was anti-society, anti-Christ, anti-government, anti-everything, and there was no one to root for.”
The actor continued that he wanted to break the cycle and bring back the “good, old-fashioned type films.”
“I wanted to get back to the cycle of the films of the ’40s and the ’50s. People say ‘I miss the good, old films’, yet Hollywood hasn’t taken heed and hasn’t made any good, old-fashioned type films where morality was at the forefront.”
The dedication of the Creed actor led to one of the most successful film franchises ever. His first film earned $225 million at the worldwide box office, but more than that he gave one of the most inspiring and moving stories that Hollywood lacked at that period.
Sly will be available to stream on Netflix on 3rd November 2023.
Source: THR
