'Destitute' Sylvester Stallone Earned $34 a Week and Showered in His Clothes Before Hitting It Big With 'Rocky': 'I Kept Going'
Sylvester Stallone did whatever it took to survive when he moved back to New York City in his early 20s.
Oct. 2 2026, Published 4:17 p.m. ET
Sylvester Stallone had nearly nothing to his name when he moved to New York City in 1969, but he didn't let that stop him, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
In his new memoir, The Steps, the Oscar-nominated actor reflects on his life before making it big in Hollywood. He says that even when times were tough, and he only earned $34 a week, he knew his hard work would pay off.
Sylvester Stallone Recalls 'Naive' Optimism
Sylvester Stallone admitted he was naive about the potential for success in acting when he was young.
"I think it comes from naïveté and the folly of youth, that you still have this sense of, 'I can do it, I can break the mold,'" he said in a recent interview. "I hadn't been beaten enough by life yet to say it's over because, as an actor, if you haven't made it by 30, I'd say 99 percent you're never going to make it. I wasn't aware of that, so I kept going."
"In New York, when I was really down and out, I didn't focus on, 'God, you're going to be destitute,'" Stallone continued. "There was this certain optimism that if you put every effort forward, if you denied yourself every moment of pleasure of going to the movies, dating a girl — if you abandoned all that and dedicate yourself, I believe that you'll know 100% whether you actually have a chance to be this character you always wished you could be."
Sylvester Stallone Made $34 a Week
Sylvester Stallone made $34 a week working at a local movie theater in his early 20s.
After dropping out of both the American College of Switzerland and the University of Miami, Stallone rented a room in New York City, which he compared to a small jail cell.
He shared a bathroom with ten other people and made just $34 a week working at a local movie theater.
That job allowed him to study movies, further fueling his dreams.
Sylvester Stallone Recalls Poverty
Sylvester Stallone claims he used to shower with his clothing on to save money on laundry.
Desperate to survive, Stallone would lather up his clothing when he showered to save money on laundry.
"I could never afford to go to a laundromat," he admitted. "My wife thinks this is so gross, 'Why would you take a shower with your clothes on?' I said, 'It made sense to me at the time, rather than going down to the laundromat.'"
"This was a tenement home," Stallone added. "It was so bad. But you do what you could to survive."
Sylvester Stallone Survived on Raw Eggs and Cottage Cheese
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Sylvester Stallone kept himself on a bizarre diet in his toughest financial times.
As for how he staved off hunger, Stallone says his diet consisted mostly of cottage cheese and raw eggs. When he wanted to treat himself, he did so with apples and chicken breast.
"It's the only thing that made sense numerically, financially," he explained. "Of course, it's all wrong. It's terrible. I'm surprised I didn't get salmonella, really. It's really quite remarkable."
