Stallone recalls his father’s Rocky cameo and a tense on-set moment

In promoting his memoir The Steps, due Oct. 23, Sylvester Stallone discusses a Rocky cameo performed by his real father, Frank Stallone Sr., and the on-set friction that followed a 1976 filming moment.

On the day of the scene, Frank Sr. “didn’t ring the bell properly,” Stallone recounts, leading to ongoing tension as the take unfolded. He says the exchange culminated in an altercation and that it “got really nasty,” noting that he briefly wondered whether his father would be proud of what he had created.

Stallone describes his father as “very, very cold and tough” until their reconciliation after Frank Sr.’s death in 2011, recalling a dynamic of explosive moments followed by silence. He emphasizes that he did not want the memoir to be a pity party, but to share past experiences honestly.

The Deadline piece also mentions a biopic, I Play Rocky, premiering Nov. 6 in theaters, in which Anthony Ippolito plays a young Stallone as he writes the first Rocky and fights to star as the titular boxer.

Source: Deadline

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