Anthony Ippolito, who stars as a young Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky, opened up about speaking with the action star in preparation for the biopic.
The Purple Hearts actor told The Hollywood Reporter at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday that talking with Stallone about his life, early career, and the development of Rocky was an “overwhelming” experience. Ippolito plays Stallone in Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, which follows the tumultuous production of the 1976 boxing film that won three Oscars, including best picture.
“ I got to speak to Stallone prior to making the movie. It was a lot to take in because I’d spent over a year, by that point, studying him,” Ippolito said at THR‘s Studio at 1 Hotel during TIFF, presented by sponsor Canada Goose. “It was very overwhelming and daunting. There’s a lot going on in my head, but I was really just trying to listen as much as possible and hear his perspective. Obviously, Rocky’s an underdog story and he’s an underdog in the movie, but Stallone in a lot of ways was an underdog in his actual life.”
Ippolito revealed that he and Stallone chatted about Stallone’s early childhood and many of the difficulties he had to overcome, including paralysis of the lower left side of his face after doctors accidentally severed a nerve during childbirth. The complication gave Stallone his signature voice and look, which became famous when Rocky hit theaters in the ‘70s.
“Since he was born, he had this facial paralysis that kind of made everything difficult,” Ippolito shared. “[The paralysis] obviously made trying to become an actor really difficult. And so, hearing his firsthand account of what that is like; he really just endured a lot and went through a lot. It’s a miracle that this film came to be and that people still celebrate it 50 years later.”
Filmmaker Farrelly expanded on the challenges Stallone faced bringing Rocky to the big screen, adding that the studio at the time put up roadblocks in hopes that they could recast and find another actor to play Rocky Balboa. Stallone wrote the screenplay for the film and insisted he played the lead character.
Distributed by United Artists and later MGM, Rocky became one of the most financially successful sports film franchises of all time, grossing over $1.7 billion globally.
“ I think a lot of people know bits of [the story], but I didn’t know the big picture,” Farrelly said. “All the twists and turns; there are millions. … There’s so many things, like the way the studio — not only were they fighting him, but then once he got on board, they were — I don’t want to say they were sabotaging him — but they were making it hard for him so that if he got behind schedule, they could replace him with somebody else.”
Ultimately, Stallone’s opinion of I Play Rocky is one the cast and crew care most about, Farrelly said. The Rambo star has seen the movie and given his seal of approval, the director added.
“[Stallone] loved it. It’s such a relief. I was afraid because he watched it alone, for one thing, and this plays really well with a crowd,” Farrelly said. “I was nervous — him sitting there alone — and for many other reasons. There’s a lot of stuff in there, especially the beginning when he’s down and out. It’s rough to watch.”
I Play Rocky will open nationwide in theaters Nov. 20 following a limited release on Nov. 13.