Sylvester Stallone Reveals Horrifying Attack Inside Psych Ward

Sylvester Stallone is opening up about a terrifying experience that helped shape the resilience he carried into adulthood. The 80-year-old actor claims he was attacked by another patient after being sent to a psychiatric ward as a teenager, describing an institution filled with disturbing conditions and violent punishment. Stallone said the ordeal taught him that others could not break him, a belief he later carried to New York City and into his difficult early years as an aspiring actor.

Sylvester Stallone Details His Time Inside A Psychiatric Ward

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Stallone discussed the traumatic chapter of his adolescence while promoting his forthcoming memoir, “The Steps,” which is scheduled to be published on September 29. According to the Daily Mail, the “Rocky” star attended Devereux Manor High School in Pennsylvania and was considered a juvenile delinquent during his teenage years.

During an interview with The New York Times, Stallone explained that teenagers who violated the school’s rules could be sent to a particularly frightening area. “In my age group, the teenagers, if you ever snuck out to see a girl or do something like that, you’d be reprimanded by being taken to a place called Park Lodge or the Snake Pit,” he told the outlet.

Stallone painted a disturbing picture of the conditions he reportedly encountered there. “The smell, the filth, people running around naked, clawing, hands tied, drooling, this is what they thought would impress you never to break the rules again,” he said.

The actor said he was eventually sent to a psychiatric ward for “a couple of weeks,” where the situation became even more dangerous. “I was attacked there. They tried to rip my groin off,” Stallone claimed.

The Actor Recounts A Terrifying Bathroom Attack

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Stallone said the alleged attack happened after he entered a bathroom while making his way to the facility’s dining hall. He described the other patient as physically intimidating and frequently unclothed.

“He was big, had no hair, always naked, rotten teeth,” the actor said. “They called him Jay Bird because he was always naked as a jaybird. And I go into the bathroom on the way to the food mess hall, and he comes in and comes around me and he’s like ripping on my throat and he is going into my pants and grabbing my groin.”

According to Stallone, two guards eventually entered the bathroom and violently intervened. “Then, the two guards come in and they’re beating the crap out of him with razor straps.”

The teenager was apparently left stunned by what had unfolded and asked the guards for an explanation, saying, “I go, ‘What the hell is wrong with him?’ And they say, ‘You’re in a crazy house, boy. Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s crazy.’”

The Experience Left Stallone Feeling ‘Unbreakable’

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The “Rambo” actor admitted that he entered the psychiatric ward expecting its staff and conditions to destroy his resolve. “I know they’re going to try to break me,” Stallone recalled thinking at the time. However, he said the experience ultimately had the opposite effect.

Stallone remembered facing the school principal after leaving the institution and being asked whether he had finally learned his lesson. “When I came out of there and was standing before the school principal and he said, ‘You learned your lesson?’”

Stallone said his answer reflected a dramatic change in how he viewed himself. “I said, ‘I learned a lot more than that lesson. A much better lesson: You can’t break me.’ So when I got to [New York City in my 20s] and everything that came after that, I always felt I was unbreakable in that way.”

That mentality would become especially important as Stallone struggled to establish himself in Hollywood before writing and starring in “Rocky,” the 1976 film that transformed his life and launched a decades-long franchise.

Sylvester Stallone Says His Physique Became His ‘Armor’

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Elsewhere in the profile, Stallone discussed how his complicated relationship with physical strength extended into his acting career. The Hollywood veteran said he began treating his body as a form of protection. “It was my armor. I looked at Rocky: Very smooth, very normal-looking guy. And then I said, I think the character would start to become more vain.”

As the franchise continued, Stallone became increasingly focused on creating a leaner and more aggressive appearance for Rocky Balboa. “So I started to think: Design your body like a jaguar, a cat. Not big like Arnold [Schwarzenegger] but more feral and aggressive, and very limber and athletic.”

That pursuit eventually developed into what Stallone described as an obsession. He revealed that he struggled with bulimia while preparing for “Rocky III” and reached an exceptionally low body-fat percentage. “Then it got to the point where I became bulimic. You heard it here first. I got down to 2.6% body fat when I was doing ‘Rocky III,’ and I couldn’t hold anything down.”

He continued, “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 ‘Rocky’ Star Also Admitted To Using Steroids

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Stallone additionally acknowledged using steroids to help develop and maintain the muscular frame associated with his most famous characters. “Nobody does it without additives and drugs, period,” he said.

The actor argued that sustaining such an extreme appearance for months at a time was not realistically achievable through limited food and exercise alone. “I don’t care what they say. 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.”

“The Steps” is expected to explore more of the experiences that shaped Stallone’s life when it is released on September 29.