Sylvester Stallone Describes His Gnarly ROCKY II Injury and How It's Tied to Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sylvester Stallone created one of film’s most beloved characters with Rocky Balboa in the Rocky film franchise. So it was a no brainer that after the first movie, fans were looking forward to seeing the story continue with the next chapter in Rocky II.
In a recent interview with Stallone and former nemesis/current friend Arnold Schwarzenegger, titled TMZ Presents Arnold & Sly: Rival, Friends, Icons, Stallone opened up about the injury he suffered in preparation of his sequel, and how it tied to Schwarzenegger.
At the time, both actors used the record-breaking strongman Franco Columbu as their trainer, and under his care, Stallone faced a devastating blow to his body. He explained:
“I gotta tell you about Frank. This guy here, he was very eccentric. We're working, and he goes, 'Let's have a competition with bench press.' I said, 'You won.' He goes, 'No, come anyway.' So I go down, and it's maybe only 200, and I'm just [warming up] and I hear, 'Pow!' I go, 'Ugh,' and I fall on the floor, and I'm going, 'Ahh,' and then Franco goes, 'Let me see,' and he jams his fingers. I've torn my pec off the bone. I mean, bad. I could hear it go rip, and he's jamming his fingers then. I think I'm going to black out.”
This doesn’t seem like it could have been tied to Schwarzenegger, as no one could have predicted that Stallone would have torn his pectoral muscle, but some think Arnold could have encouraged Columbus to push Stallone, who he was majorly feuding with at the time, past his breaking point.
Stallone went on to talk about how the injury affected the second film:
“So I go home. I feel like my career is over. I'm supposed to start Rocky II — direct it, everything — in a month and a half. And I said I got to have this thing sewn up. Here's the difference, and [Arnold] would have done the same thing. I can't use this arm, so I'll change it in Rocky; he'll fight right-handed. Completely illogical, but I said 'I'm not stopping this movie just for this.'“
Some fans say this wasn’t the best path for the character, but it’s all history now. The Rocky franchise was a success, and Stallone and Schwarzenegger were able to reconcile, so it sounds like a win to me.
via: CinemaBlend