Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone is known for portraying tough, unbreakable characters on the big screen — but behind the muscle and grit is a man who endured years of emotional pain growing up. The 78-year-old actor recently shared a deeply personal story about his difficult childhood during a candid conversation on the Unwaxed Podcast, hosted by his daughters Sophia and Sistine.

In the episode, Stallone revealed that one of the most powerful scenes in Rocky II — where Rocky has a heated confrontation with his trainer, Mickey — was actually rooted in his own unresolved anger toward his father.

Sylvester Stallone from Rocky movie, Photo Credit: officialslystallone/Instagram
“I was terrified of him,” Stallone said. “I didn’t have the bravery or the words to stand up to my father when I was young. So when I wrote that screenplay, it became a way to express the frustration I had bottled up for years.”

The emotional scene from Rocky II shows the boxer lashing out at Mickey, declaring, “I got pain, I got experience too!” before ultimately reconciling with his trainer. For Stallone, that moment was more than just a dramatic beat — it was personal.

“That wasn’t just acting,” he explained. “That was me finally getting a chance to say the things I couldn’t say as a kid. It felt like therapy.”

Sylvester Stallone together with his family, Photo Credit: officialslystallone/Instagram
Sylvester Stallone together with his family, Photo Credit: officialslystallone/Instagram
Stallone, best known for his roles in Rocky and Rambo, described his early years as turbulent. He said he spent the first four-and-a-half years of his life in a boarding house, left there by parents who made it clear he wasn’t wanted.

“My parents weren’t fit to raise a goldfish, let alone children,” Stallone said bluntly. “My mother would say things like, ‘You’re only here because the hanger didn’t work.’ And I’d laugh — I believed it was a joke. But it wasn’t.”

These early experiences had a lasting impact. Stallone admitted he became withdrawn, choosing instead to lose himself in comic books and fantasy heroes like Batman and Superman.

Sylvester Stallone in a podcast interview with his daughters, Photo Credit: officialslystallone/Instagram
Sylvester Stallone in a podcast interview with his daughters, Photo Credit: officialslystallone/Instagram
“I escaped into fiction,” he said. “That was how I coped. I would even make my own superhero costumes and wear them under my clothes to school. It was the only way I felt strong.”

Despite the trauma, Stallone found a way to channel his pain into creativity. The Rocky series, first launched in 1976, became a cultural phenomenon. Stallone wrote and directed several of the sequels, turning Rocky Balboa into an enduring symbol of perseverance and heart.🧓