Sylvester Stallone is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. After struggling as an actor upon arriving to New York City in 1969, he later won critical acclaim for The Lords of Flatbush. However, he achieved his greatest success as an actor and screenwriter for his role as Rocky Balboa. In the films, Rocky is an underdog boxer and wins the world heavyweight championship.
Until 1969, he appeared on the stage under the name Mike Stallone; in 1970, he started using the stage name Sylvester E. Stallone. While attending the University of Miami, Stallone had a role in the drama That Nice Boy (aka The Square Root), filmed in 1968.
Then in 1977, Stallone was the third actor in cinema to nominate for two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. Philadelphia has a statue of his character Rocky.
He played the role in a total of five Rambo films (1982–2019). From the mid-1980s through to the late 1990s, Stallone became one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. Films include Cobra, Tango and Cash, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, and The Specialist.
Sylvester Stallone rebounded back to prominence in 2006 in the Rocky series and 2008 with a fourth in the Rambo series.
Sylvester Stallone is the only actor in U.S. cinema to have starred in a number one, box office film across six consecutive decades.