He is a living proof that if you follow your dreams to the end no matter how much sweat and tears it takes, the results are always sweet.

When talking about Sylvester Stallone, people will immediately remember one of Hollywood’s top action movie stars. However, few people know that behind today’s fame and wealth, actor Stallone once lived in hardship, illness and poverty.

Continuous misfortune

The Hollywood star was born in 1946 in New York. The family was so poor that his mother had to give birth right in front of the school gate with the help of people around her. 

Because he was born in poor circumstances, Stallone suffered facial nerve damage and paralyzed the right side of his face. As a result, Stallone has to live with a stutter, and his mouth shape is not like that of a normal person.

Due to a facial disability, when he later appeared on screen, audiences often saw that his face lacked naturalness with his characteristic drooping lips. 

Stallone’s childhood did not go smoothly, he had to witness his parents’ arguments accompanied by sarcastic and teasing words from his friends around him. After his parents divorced, he transferred school to a suburb in Philadelphia.

Stallone’s early life was not smooth or favorable.

At the age of 16, Sylvester Stallone accidentally discovered his passion for acting after participating in a local play and decided to pursue this dream. In the first years of his career, the man often received harsh rejections at auditions. If he gets a role, he can only play very small roles, appearing briefly. At his poorest, Sylvester Stallone was thrown out onto the street by his motel owner.

He had to live wandering like a homeless person with his dog, his closest and only companion. Yet in the end, he had to hold back his tears and sell his loyal friend to a pub at a cheap price because he had no more money to buy food for his pet dog. This was the most miserable period in this star’s life.

This star once had to sell her pet dog because of poverty.

A life-changing turning point

Fate came to Stallone when he watched the “classic” boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner on March 24, 1975. Inspiration from that thrilling match made Stallone rush to write his own script.

” I realized that the only way to express myself was to create a role for myself in a script I wrote ,” the actor recalled that moment.

After 3 days of hard work filled with emotional words, the 90-page “Rocky” script was completed. After that, he offered to sell his first brainchild to filmmakers. Later, he got someone to agree to buy the script “Rocky” for 125,000 USD (more than 2.9 billion VND at the current exchange rate).

The actor himself wrote the script about the boxer. 

For someone who is struggling like Sylvester Stallone, that amount of progress is quite large. However, he only agreed to sell his “child” on the condition that the producer let him play the main role. And of course, no movie producer will agree to this condition because they only want to choose famous actors who attract many audiences.

Later, they continuously offered higher prices to bribe Sylvester Stallone but failed. The man said he struggled a lot and decided he would never “sell his dream cheap” no matter how much the filmmaker raised the price.

” I thought to myself: ‘I’m used to living with poverty’ and decided to refuse. Because I knew if I sold the script and the movie was successful without me in it, I would commit suicide ,” the actor confided.

In the end, the filmmaker had to give in and agree to let him play the main role, but the script price was reduced to only 35,000 USD  and given production conditions with a tight cost of only 1 million USD. .

The film was shot in 28 days under poor conditions. To save costs, the actor mobilized his father, younger brother and wife to join the film crew. On his side, because of the legendary Rocky Balboa, Stallone trained non-stop and his body had countless painful injuries.

The man made history with his first brainchild.

In the end, Stallone’s efforts finally paid off when “Rocky”, a film about a boxer who does not surrender to fate despite being out of touch with the times, became the most popular box office phenomenon. in 1976.

Not stopping there, the film also won 3 out of 10 Oscar nominations. “Rocky” has become one of the best boxing movies of all time, it is a symbol of an iron determination, turning dreams into reality.

A fulfilling life

After the resounding success of “Rocky”, Sylvester Stallone quickly rose to become a new potential Hollywood star. He made a strong impression through his thorny and personality roles. 

The 80s marked Sylvester Stallone’s attachment to the character John Rambo in the “Rambo” film series (4 parts). This is also a popular series, bringing in more than 1 billion USD in revenue.

In 2004, the actor was honored, along with actor Tom Cruise, to be chosen to be part of the torch relay team for the world’s largest Olympic sports festival when it was brought to Los Angeles. 

In addition to acting, this Hollywood star also ventured into the field of journalism when he personally edited the magazine “Sly”, Stallone’s nickname, and received warm support.

Recalling the difficult days of the past, Sylvester Stallone was always emotional: ” Those were the times when I wanted to give up. I can’t forget the day I sold my dog ​​to get a few dollars to buy bread.” belly “.

Now, the male actor is a famous superstar.

Now, the poor young man who had a facial disability has had a remarkable career. His remuneration is always about 20 million USD when participating in film projects. 

He is loved by the audience not only for his acting talent but also for his strong and extraordinary determination to overcome adversity along with his heart and personality.

 After having money from selling the script “Rocky”, the first thing he did was redeem his beloved dog who had suffered with him throughout his difficult journey at a price many times higher than when he sold it. 

Sylvester Stallone’s life shows everyone that: We always have the right to decide our own destiny. You will never achieve anything great in life unless you turn it into motivation and do it immediately.