Stallone says he'd be in 'big trouble' trying to launch his career in today's Hollywood

From the Newshound archive · first published 29 September 2026 · last updated 30 September 2026.

Sylvester Stallone, promoting his new memoir 'The Steps', says the Hollywood that made Rocky a star no longer exists and a version of himself starting out today would struggle to survive it. The 80-year-old has been brutally candid about grief, rejection and family dysfunction in a sweeping round of interviews tied to the book's release. He confessed he was on a golf course when told his mother had died — and admits he did not attend her funeral.

Stallone's memoir reveals he threatened to knock Richard Gere's teeth out on set, leading to Gere's dismissal from 'The Lords of Flatbush'.

His mother Jackie refused her ticket to the 1977 Oscars because Stallone wouldn't give her a plus-one for her hairdresser.

'You suppress, and you suppress' — Stallone says decades of ignored grief eventually erupts, and his son's death left him wailing with grief.