Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone abused steroids and struggled with bulimia while preparing for one of his famous Rocky Balboa films, the actor revealed in a stunning New York Times profile published Saturday.
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actor → abuse → profile
Stallone admitted he cycled steroids and endured the eating disorder at the height of his fame in the 1980s, revealing he struggled in his relationship with his body at the time.
“Then it became an obsession,” he said, referencing how he curated his body to fit the “Rambo” and “Rocky” franchises.
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he → admit → franchises
It got to the point where I became bulimic.
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I → get → point
You heard it here first.
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You → hear → it
I got down to 2.6 percent body fat when I was doing ‘Rocky III,’ and I couldn’t hold anything down.
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I → get → anything
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 NYT.
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he → want → NYT
Stallone said any actor pressured to stay in top physical shape at that time had to do drugs.
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actor → say → 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.
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he → ’re → yogurt
Stallone earned several Academy Award nominations and a Golden Globe win for his work in the Rocky franchise.
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Stallone → earn → franchise
The movie star said he would do a six-week steroid cycle that he viewed as mandatory to portray boxer Rocky Balboa.
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he → say → Balboa
He did not specify which type of performance-enhancing drugs he used.
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he → specify → drugs
“Oh, my god, you have to.
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you → have → ?
But you do it in a sensitive way — six weeks on, six weeks off,” he said in a response to a question asking him if he took steroids.
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he → do → steroids
“People go, ‘Oh, you don’t get that way naturally.’
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you → go → way
No, you don’t.
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you → do → ?
But that also took a terrible toll.”
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that → take → toll
Stallone said the 1997 movie “Cop Land,” which saw him portray partially deaf New Jersey Sheriff Freddy Heflin, allowed him to loosen his body standards.
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him → say → standards
He said the work left him “somewhat liberated,” though he says things went “sideways” and he “fell out of grace with Hollywood.”
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he → say → Hollywood
The 80-year-old has been quiet on the major blockbuster front since starring in Expendables 4 in 2023.
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old → star → 2023
He released his biography documentary, “Sly,” the same year.
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He → release → documentary
Stallone had roles in the 2024 action thriller “Armor” and the 2025 crime thriller “Alarum.”
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Stallone → have → thriller
Most of his recent success has come from starring as a mafia boss in Paramount+’s “Tulsa King.”
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Most → come → King
President Donald Trump named Stallone one of his special Hollywood ambassadors earlier this year alongside actors Jon Voight and Mel Gibson.
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Trump → name → Voight
The action hero recently said he had no idea the president would name him to the position.
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president → say → position
“Well, it just happened,” he said.
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he → happen → ?
“I was watching TV one night and they go, ‘So Stallone and Mel Gibson and Jon Voight will be …’
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Stallone → watch → TV
And I went, ‘What?’
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I → go → What
I said, ‘Excuse me?
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I → say → me
Because if they had asked me in the beginning, I would have said, ‘This is not possible.’”
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This → ask → beginning
He expressed concern about the position, saying, “Hollywood, I guess it’s like feudal states.
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it → express → states
They have their little kingdoms.
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They → have → kingdoms
You don’t go in and tell six studios how to do things.
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You → go → things
And Mel Gibson and Jon Voight, we’re kind of do-our-own-thing people.
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we → ’re → thing
No, it won’t work.”
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it → work → ?
Conversation
Your voice matters.
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voice → matter → ?
Discussions are moderated for civility.
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Discussions → moderate → civility
The Aporia
