Behind the rise of many famous people are hidden stories that are difficult to believe. Some stars like Sylvester Stallone thriving and enjoying years of celebrity started lower than we can assume.
Sylvester Stallone’s journey proves that nothing is impossible, no matter how crazy some dreams seem. Before being able to sell the script for the movie “Rocky”, he was broke and had to sleep at the bus station, train in the junkyard, and he even had to sell his beloved dog, Butkus, because he didn’t have money to feed him. The actor said he got $50 from a guy named Little Jimmy and walked away crying.
Stallone struggled with poverty for years. In 1970 he had been evicted from his New York apartment because he could no longer afford to pay the rent. After that, he got to sleep in the Port Authority bus station for several weeks.
He attended an audition and starred in a soft porn movie called “The Party at Kitty and Stud’s”. For two days of work, he got 200 dollars. This experience led him to go to other pre-selection of movies. But he had to be in excellent fitness shape. Unfortunately, Stallone couldn’t afford a gym membership, so he sneaked into a junkyard at night and worked out with pieces of cars.
Among other jobs, Stallone cleaned cages at the New York Zoo and worked as an usher at a cinema.
Two weeks after he gave away Butkus, Sly watched the legendary boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner. After that, the future star felt inspired to write the script for his first movie, “Rocky”. Some say it took him only three days to finish it.
The movie won three Oscars
The script received great reviews from the studio and offered Stallone US$125.000 for it, an amount he could only dream of. Still, Sly wanted to play the lead character. Unfortunately, the studio didn’t accept him due to his lack of acting experience and offered up to US$350.000. Stallone continued to keep his position. Finally, he played the main character in exchange for only US$35.000 for the script and his performance in the film.
The movie was incredibly successful at the box office, and Stallone got an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. In addition, the production entered the race for ten Film Academy Awards and won the golden statues for Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Film Editing.
He got back his friend, Butkus
The first thing Stallone did after getting the money for the” Rocky” script was to find Little Jimmy, the new owner of his dog, which he begged to sell back the pet. Sly paid US$3.000, while some rumours say the amount climbed to 15.000, but he got his friend back.
Photo credit: Wikimedia
