Sylvester Stallone is a well-known name in households thanks to his popular franchises Rocky and Rambo. Since then, his impressive career has only continued to soar to new heights, leaving audiences captivated. Considering that action is a central element in nearly all of his films, it’s no surprise that it has a significant impact on him, particularly when he stays true to his artistic vision.
In 2010, Sylvester Stallone introduced the world to The Expendables franchise with its first installment. Filled with non-stop action, the film’s intense stunts left a lasting impression on Stallone himself. In fact, he now uses his off-set injuries as a way to measure the success of his projects. Stallone’s unique grading system shows just how seriously he takes his craft.
Sylvester Stallone, the renowned Hollywood action star, is no stranger to intense action scenes. He prefers to experience the action in real life, which reflects in his acting performances. However, light injuries are an inevitable part of an action actor’s job, and they often end up with permanent injuries during filming. In the case of the 77-year-old actor, he suffered serious injuries while shooting for The Expendables 3. In comparison, he talked about how he did not get hurt in his 1992 film, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, despite being a critical flop. In an interview with Mirror, he shared further insights into his injuries, adding that he connects the intensity of his on-set injuries to the quality of his films. He joked, “I grade the quality of a film by the intensity of the injuries. When I shot Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, I never got hurt.” Despite being a critical failure, the movie grossed $70.6 million worldwide. Stallone has already called it “the worst film I’ve ever made by far…a flatworm could write a better script than STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT.”
He shared his experiences of sustaining severe injuries during his work on the Rambo and The Expendables series, but he revealed that the injury he suffered during filming in 2014 was unlike any other. Speaking to Mirror, he said, “I broke my neck and spine and dislocated both shoulders in Rambo and The Expendables.” He went on to say, “In this one, I took a fall on my back and had some metal put in there, so if you hear any squeaking, it’s not my shoes but my back. But I’m improving.” Even his co-stars, such as Jason Statham, had to endure similar ordeals, with Statham experiencing a near-fatal accident partially caused by Stallone. Despite their tremendous efforts, the movie failed to impress critics. Sylvester Stallone also discussed a serious incident involving Jason Statham.
For the third installment of The Expendables franchise, Stallone and his co-stars were required to perform dangerous physical activities and action sequences. In an interview, Stallone shared that Jason Statham had fought death in the Black Sea by driving a five-ton truck 60 feet down into black mud because Stallone had cut the brake line. Statham was very modest about it and no one knew until he confessed during the interview. The star-studded movie included an ensemble cast with Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it ended up being a critical flop. However, financially, it did well, grossing over $209.46 million against the production budget of around $100 million. The sequel, Expendables, released in September, was both a critical and box-office flop, grossing only $42.7 million worldwide so far.
