Sylvester Stallone revealed in a recent interview with TMZ that he was afraid of losing his career after he finished filming Rocky.
The actor was preparing to film Rocky II with professional bodybuilder Franco Columbus when he suffered an injury that made him think he could say goodbye to his film career.
“I fell after lifting about 90 kilograms. “I was just warming up and then I heard something pop,” Stallone recalled.
During the warm-up, his pectoral muscle ruptured, which completely separated from the bone, so he could not use his left arm.
“I went home.” I felt like my career was over. I was supposed to start work on Rocky II in a month and a half,” the actor continued.
To save the film, he decided to change his strategy. Instead of giving up, he rewrote the script and inserted a part where Rocky has problems with his eyes, so he has to learn to box with his right hand.
“There’s no logic to it,” Stallone said of the script change, as he thought to himself, “I’m not going to walk away from this movie because of an injury.”
Rocky II premiered in June 1979 and grossed $200 million worldwide. The film’s success allowed Stallone to continue the successful franchise.
