The action star opened up about a childhood marked by abandonment, violence and an almost total absence of affection in a new interview, telling The New York Times he deliberately left some of the darkest stories out of his book because he didn’t want readers to feel sorry for him.
asserted
readers → open → him
“I didn’t put a lot of stuff in the book because I didn’t want a pity party … but it was insane,” he admitted.
asserted
he → put → party
After his parent’s divorce, Stallone spent time living with his father in Maryland.
asserted
Stallone → spend → Maryland
He described his father as volatile and physically abusive.
asserted
He → describe → father
“The next thing you know — wham!
asserted
you → know → ?
He had very big hands.
asserted
He → have → hands
You just learned to duck a little bit.”
asserted
You → learn → ?
One memory particularly stayed with Stallone.
asserted
memory → stay → Stallone
The Hollywood star said his father sent him to a store before church to buy bread.
asserted
father → say → bread
He returned with nut bread after running into friends.
asserted
He → return → friends
“And he kicked me in the stomach and hit me and like laid me out, got in the car, and went to church.”
asserted
he → kick → church
Stallone said he was left lying in the street, saying, “Really, it’s unbelievable.
asserted
it → say → street
It’s unbelievable.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Years later, Stallone confronted his father.
asserted
Stallone → confront → father
When he was in his 40s, Stallone told him, “I wish you and I could be the same age for three minutes.”
uncertain
you → tell → minutes
When his father asked him why, he said, “Because I’d like to give you some of your own medicine, and you would know what it’d be like to have your a– kicked.”
asserted
a → ask → what
Stallone said his father then challenged him to fight, explaining, “He was ready to go at 68 years old.”
asserted
He → say → him
The “Rocky” star connected that fierceness to one of the characters he’s best known for.
asserted
he → connect → characters
“So, when people go, ‘Where do you get the ferocity to play Rambo?’ Genetic,” he said.
asserted
he → go → Rambo
Stallone additionally recalled that his mother never showed affection toward him.
asserted
mother → recall → him
“My mother never — and my brother will attest — hugged me.
asserted
brother → attest → me
Ever, ever,” Stallone shared.
asserted
Stallone → share → ?
His father rarely showed affection either.
asserted
father → show → affection
But when Stallone was about 9, he said he fell asleep in the car after working around his father’s horses.
asserted
he → say → horses
His father placed Stallone’s head on his knee and rested his hand on his head.
asserted
father → place → head
“And I never got over that,” he admitted.
asserted
he → get → that
Earlier in the interview, Stallone described being sent to live in a boarding house when he was very young, where his parents visited only once a month.
asserted
parents → describe → house
“I just was raised by strangers, you know, in a boarding house.
asserted
you → raise → house
And it became sort of a natural environment.
asserted
it → become → ?
And my parents were really never nurturing, so this was actually a bonus compared to where I was living.”
asserted
I → nurture → ?
That emotional deprivation, Stallone acknowledged, shaped the man he became.
asserted
he → acknowledge → man
When asked whether it made him tough, he replied, “In the wrong way, yeah, it did.
asserted
it → ask → way
It made me very tough.”
asserted
me → make → ?
But the toughness came at a cost.
asserted
toughness → come → cost
Stallone said he didn’t experience what he considers “real, real, real, real true love” until he was around 70, when he experienced it with his wife and kids, saying, “And that’s a big pity.
asserted
that → say → wife
Stallone went on to build one of Hollywood’s most recognizable careers, writing about and starring as Rocky Balboa and going on to play John Rambo.
asserted
Stallone → go → Rambo
The original “Rocky” received 10 Oscar nominations and won three Academy Awards, including best picture.
asserted
Rocky → receive → picture
Off screen, Stallone has five children from two of his three marriages.
asserted
Stallone → have → marriages
Stallone married his first wife, Sasha Czack, in 1974.
asserted
Stallone → marry → 1974
They divorced in 1985 and shared two sons, Sage and Seargeoh.
asserted
They → divorce → sons
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
