Sylvester Stallone is one of the most prolific action stars in Hollywood. His Rocky and Rambo series have turned into billion-dollar franchises and have given him the status of a quintessential action star. Apart from these, the actor has starred in a number of action films for more than four decades.
Along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone became one of the most prominent action stars of the 1980s and 90s. Be it conventional action films or a blend of genres, the actor-director has impacted them. Stallone often expresses his love for the genre as he still does films that are action extravaganzas.
Sylvester Stallone: The Action Specialist
Sylvester Stallone has been very consistent in his choice of films. Not many actors boast of a filmography like his, where many of them can be considered bonafide classics. His repertoire consists of three high-grossing franchises, two of which are still running. The Rocky franchise, which began in 1976, had its spin-off film Creed III released earlier this year, while the fourth film of his Expendables franchise, The Expend4bles is scheduled to release in September.
His Rocky films have greatly impacted the promotion of boxing as a sport. The star was also inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport, an honor the actor claims he did not deserve. His Rambo films have had such a cultural impact that the locals in a province in Papua New Guinea have created legends about the character.
While the actor was popular throughout the 80s and 90s with blockbuster action films such as Tango & Cash, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, and Cop Land, he is still active with his Expandables and Escape Plan series. Stallone also made appearances in the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy, playing the Ravager Stakar Ogord. He also starred in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, playing the role of King Shark.
Sylvester Stallone’s Love For Action
Sylvester Stallone has often remarked on the universality of the action genre. The star has combined various genres into the action format. In films like Judge Dredd and Demolition Man, the actor explored science fiction while in films like Tango & Cash and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, he combined comedy with action. Last year’s Samaritan found him exploring the genre within a superhero space.
In an interview with Outlook, while promoting Samaritan in India, the actor spoke about how he came to love the genre,
“When I started, there was no what I call ‘real action film’ or ‘action beats’. There were car chases, there was this and that, there would be a fight. And I thought, ‘Wow, this is a genre, that is really fascinating’”.
The actor is all praises for the genre as he believes that it is universal and would appeal to anyone. Alluding to his Rambo series, the actor mentions how a ‘real action’ film would convey the story even if the sound was off.
“In a real action film, you can turn the sound off and know what the story is, just through physical movement. So when I did ‘Rambo: First Blood’, I said, ‘How about we turn the sound off? People will know what the story is.’ That’s when I realized how important this genre could be.”
He also invokes history while describing the larger-than-life status of action stars,
“It’s almost as though, ‘Oh, they’re gods. They’re modern-day god-like creatures.’ We see this from the ‘Odyssey’ by Homer to present-day Marvel. It’s the same thing except being presented through some of the CGI and the other ones on the written word.”
While Hollywood is heavily leaning into the superhero genre and all studios hope to create connected universes, Sylvester Stallone chooses to constantly stick to his guns, literally and metaphorically.