Sylvester Stallone Reveals Hidden Battle Behind His ‘Rocky’ Body

Sylvester Stallone is opening up about the dangerous lengths he went to while building the famously shredded physique that helped define his biggest action roles. The 80-year-old actor revealed that he struggled with bulimia and cycled steroids while preparing to play Rocky Balboa at the height of his fame. Stallone said his pursuit of physical perfection became an unhealthy “obsession” that ultimately took a “terrible toll” on him.

Sylvester Stallone Reveals His Private Bulimia Battle

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Stallone made the stunning disclosure in a New York Times profile published Saturday. While discussing the extreme physical transformations required for the “Rocky” and “Rambo” franchises, the Hollywood legend admitted that his efforts to maintain a camera-ready body eventually spiraled out of control. “Then it became an obsession,” Stallone said of sculpting his body for the blockbuster roles.

He acknowledged that his fixation became especially severe while preparing to film “Rocky III.” “Really bad. It got to the point where I became bulimic. You heard it here first,” he said. “I got down to 2.6 percent body fat when I was doing ‘Rocky III,’ and I couldn’t hold anything down. 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,” he told the newspaper.

Stallone said he became consumed with staying at an extreme level of fitness, even when it affected his ability or willingness to keep food down.

The Actor Says Steroids Felt ‘Mandatory’ For The Role

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Stallone also confirmed that he used steroids while preparing to portray Rocky. The actor said he completed six-week steroid cycles, which he viewed as necessary to maintain his physique over months of training and filming. “Oh, my god, you have to. But you do it in a sensitive way, six weeks on, six weeks off,” Stallone said when asked directly whether he had taken steroids. He did not identify the specific performance-enhancing drugs he used.

Stallone pushed back against the idea that actors could naturally achieve and maintain those extreme bodies while working under intense production demands. “People go, ‘Oh, you don’t get that way naturally.’ No, you don’t. But that also took a terrible toll,” he admitted.

The “Tulsa King” star said performers who were expected to stay in peak physical condition for extended periods often relied on drugs. “It isn’t as though you’re a junkie, but if you’re going to work out and try to stay in shape for six months straight, and you’re eating yogurt and pudding, it’s not happening,” he said.

‘Cop Land’ Helped Free Him From His Body Obsession

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Stallone said the 1997 crime drama “Cop Land” allowed him to begin relaxing the extreme standards he had placed on his body. The film marked a departure from the muscular action heroes that had become his trademark.

Stallone portrayed Freddy Heflin, a partially deaf New Jersey sheriff, and altered his appearance to fit the less glamorous character. The actor described the role as “somewhat liberated,” suggesting it let him focus less on maintaining the rigid physique audiences had come to expect.

However, the professional aftermath was not entirely positive. Stallone said his career went “sideways” following the film and that he “fell out of grace with Hollywood.”

Sylvester Stallone Found New Success On Television

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Stallone has been quieter on the blockbuster movie front in recent years. His last major franchise appearance came in 2023’s “Expendables 4.” That same year, Netflix released “Sly,” a biographical documentary exploring Stallone’s life and lengthy Hollywood career.

The veteran actor later appeared in the 2024 action thriller “Armor” and the 2025 crime thriller “Alarum.” Much of Stallone’s recent success has come from television through his leading role on Paramount+’s “Tulsa King.” The series stars Stallone as a Mafia boss and has given him another prominent character after decades of being associated with Rocky and Rambo.

The Action Star Was Surprised By His Trump Appointment

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Stallone also addressed President Donald Trump naming him a special Hollywood ambassador alongside Mel Gibson and Jon Voight. The actor claimed he had no advance knowledge that Trump planned to announce him for the position.

“Well, it just happened,” Stallone explained. “I was watching TV one night, and they go, ‘So Stallone and Mel Gibson and Jon Voight will be …’ And I went, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Excuse me? Really?’ Because if they had asked me in the beginning, I would have said, ‘This is not possible.’”

Stallone expressed skepticism about whether three actors could meaningfully influence Hollywood’s major studios. “Hollywood, I guess it’s like feudal states. They have their little kingdoms. You don’t go in and tell six studios how to do things. And Mel Gibson and Jon Voight, we’re kind of do-our-own-thing people. No, it won’t work,” he said.