Sylvester Stallone Calls Himself an 'Idiot' for Performing Own Stunts — as 'Rocky' Star Reveals Trauma of 9 Back Surgeries
Sylvester Stallone has branded himself an 'idiot' for performing his own stunts during Hollywood career.
Oct. 14 2026, Published 3:45 p.m. ET
Sylvester Stallone has branded himself an "idiot" for performing his own stunts, leaving his body ravaged.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Rocky star, 80, detailed the extent of the injuries sustained during his Hollywood career that he claims could have been avoided if he let somebody else do some of the more physical work.
'I Have Been Injured Many, Many Times'
Stallone said his body is now in 'pieces.'
"You could literally spend a half hour talking about injuries," he said. "They've become compounded. I have been injured many, many times."
The veteran actor also explained how he faced a multitude of health challenges after wrapping 2010's The Expendables.
"I ended up with nine back operations, three neck fusions, both shoulders ripped out," he continued. "It's been brutal. So you’re never quite the same. Now you have to learn – okay, make peace with the pain as much as you can."
Stallone's Warning for Young Actors
Stallone has told young stars not to be 'showboats.'
Speaking about performing his own stunts, Stallone advised younger actors to avoid being a "showboat" and leave it to the stunt pros.
"The moral of the message is: let other people do their job. Don’t be a stage hog or whatever you call it," he told Fox News. "I know a lot of people are thinking about doing stunts – don’t. Don’t. Let the pro do it."
"Let me explain something: you cannot beat gravity. When you hit the ground, you lose. And it’s gonna come back. Just ask every football player in the world."
Stallone clarified that he does not wear his injury history as a badge of honor.
"People go, 'Aren’t you proud'" he said. "I go, 'No, I think I’m an idiot for doing that. I’m not proud that I broke myself in pieces.'"
Slamming Brutal Modern Day Hollywood
The 'Rocky' star said studios are not longer taking chances on movies.
Stallone also reflected on how Hollywood has changed in the half-century since he made Rocky back in 1976.
"It's really quite a lesson, and I don’t think there’s been an example for people of the younger generation to see that this s--- can still happen, because it’s getting tougher to have magic happen," the Cliffhanger star said.
"Studios used to be run by guys who took a shot. Like, 'This Dog Day Afternoon is kind of weird, but I wanna do it.' Not today. Today, it’s all gears and wheels, and, 'How tall is that guy? How many followers does he have?' C'mon, it’s too clinical."
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The actor is the focus of a new Peter Farrelly movie.
RadarOnline.com recently reported that Stallone feels seeing his life turned into a new Hollywood biopic has given him mixed emotions – because at 80 he is still very much still alive.
He made the candid admission about I Play Rocky, which recreates his extraordinary struggle to make the original Rocky in the 1970s.
Anthony Ippolito, 27, plays a young Stallone in director Peter Farrelly's film. It will hit U.S. theaters in November after screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.
When he was asked about watching his younger life recreated on screen, Stallone shared, "Kind of mixed because I'm going, 'I'm not dead yet. Aren't we jumping the gun a little bit?'"
