Sylvester Stallone reveals he struggled with eating disorder while filming Rocky franchise
Warning: This article contains discussion of eating disorders which some readers may find distressing.
Sylvester Stallone has revealed that his relentless pursuit of a muscular physique for the Rocky and Rambo films saw him develop an eating disorder.
He has now described his obsession with his body as one of the most damaging periods of his life, which left him with bulimia.
The 80-year-old actor made the admission during a candid interview with The New York Times, reflecting on the extraordinary physical demands he placed on himself throughout his career.
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Asked about his body and how his relationship with it had changed over the years, Stallone cautiously responded: “Well, now you’re getting personal.”
He went on to explain that his physique had gradually become more than simply part of his work.
“It was my armour,” he confessed.
Stallone recalled looking at Rocky Balboa, the character he created and played from 1976 onwards, as someone who initially had a relatively ordinary physique.
As the films developed, however, he began imagining the character as increasingly vain and physically imposing.
His approach changed further with Rambo, in which he played a hardened former soldier.
Rather than simply trying to become as large as possible, Stallone wanted a physique that appeared leaner, more athletic and animalistic.
“I started to think: Design your body like a jaguar, a cat,” he said. “Not big like Arnold, but more feral and aggressive and very limber and athletic.”
That pursuit eventually spiralled into dangerous territory.
“Then it became an obsession. Really bad,” Stallone said. “It got to the point where I became bulimic. You heard it here first.”
Stallone said he reached a personal low while filming Rocky III in 1982, and described becoming so preoccupied with maintaining his physique that eating itself became difficult.
“I couldn’t hold anything down,” he said. “Or I didn’t want to keep it down because I became so obsessed with staying at that point of fitness, literally an obsessive body-worship kind of thing.”
The body that became synonymous with Rocky and Rambo was not simply the result of conventional training, but part of an increasingly intense relationship with exercise, food and appearance that Stallone now looks back on with regret.
He also spoke openly about his use of steroids during that period, arguing that maintaining the physique he wanted while undertaking intense training and restricting his diet was not realistically achievable without performance-enhancing drugs.
Asked directly whether he had been taking steroids, Stallone replied: “Oh, my god, you have to.”
The physical consequences of his career have also been considerable.
Stallone revealed he has undergone nine back operations, two shoulder operations and three neck fusions.
“Everything is held together with baling wire, but I still want to stay in good shape,” he said.
The actor said his perspective changed when he took on a very different kind of role in Cop Land, James Mangold's 1997 crime drama.
Instead of playing the muscular action hero, Stallone portrayed Freddy Heflin, a partially deaf and overweight sheriff.
Having a break from being the muscle-bound tough guy gave him a sense of freedom.
“It wasn’t until I did Cop Land, when I had to play the weakest guy in the room — partially deaf, overweight — that I felt somewhat liberated,” he said.
Stallone was asked whether he still regarded his physique as a form of armour.
His answer was immediate: “No, no, no.”
Although he remains committed to keeping fit at 80, he acknowledged that his approach is now shaped by the physical damage accumulated over decades.
“I’m sort of fit, but I take a lot of pills to keep going,” he said. “It’s come at a terrible price.”
Looking back, Stallone said he would have approached his career differently if given the opportunity.
“If I could do it over again, I would say, ‘Let someone else carry the banner and don’t do your own stunts,’” he said.
He also called his behaviour ‘very masochistic’.
Of his regrets, he said: “You don’t get to be your age in your career without a mountain of them,”
“You denied people your love, but you also did worse to yourself.”
For Stallone, the pursuit of an increasingly extreme physique became something he could no longer separate from his sense of identity.
At 80, he appears to view that period less as a badge of honour than as something to understand and regret. “I’ve abused my body,” he admits, the body that helped define Rocky and Rambo.
Maintaining that physique was the source of an obsession which he now recognises came at a considerable personal cost.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article and would like to speak with someone in confidence, call the BEAT Eating Disorders helpline on 0808 801 0677. Helplines are open 3pm-8pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively, you can try the one-to-one webchat.
Topics: Mental Health, Celebrity, Health, Sylvester Stallone
Jen Thomas