Sylvester Stallone: Wrote himself the lead part nobody would give him
A struggling actor with small parts, he wrote Rocky after watching an underdog boxer go the distance. He refused to sell the script unless he could play the lead.
Small parts
Sylvester Stallone was born in New York in 1946. In the early 1970s he was getting very small film parts and writing scripts on the side, with little money coming in.
The fight
In March 1975 he watched Chuck Wepner, a little known boxer, last into the fifteenth round against Muhammad Ali. He went home and wrote a first draft of Rocky in a few days, by his own account, then rewrote it many times.
The condition
Producers liked the script and wanted a known star in the lead. Stallone said he would only sell it if he played Rocky himself, and held out despite rising offers. The film was eventually made on a small budget with him in the part.
What came of it
Rocky came out in 1976 and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Stallone was nominated for both acting and writing.
When no one would hire him for the job he wanted, he made a piece of work that showed what he could do. A strong example of your work can open a door a CV cannot.
The myth: Stories about him selling his dog to pay bills come from his own telling and are hard to check. The script, the refusal and the result are on the record.
Where the facts come from: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscars database, 1977 ceremony; Interviews with Stallone, collected in the Rocky DVD extras and press.
