Sylvester Stallone Struggled with an Eating Disorder During “Rocky” Fame, Admits Steroids ‘Took a Terrible Toll’ on His Body
Sylvester Stallone Struggled with an Eating Disorder During “Rocky” Fame, Admits Steroids ‘Took a Terrible Toll’ on His Body
Escher WalcottSun, September 27, 2026 at 12:19 PM UTC
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Sylvester StalloneCredit: United Artists/Kobal/Shutterstock; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic -
Sylvester Stallone opened up about his body image struggles in a candid new interview
The actor said he faced an eating disorder and abused steroids during the height of his Rocky fame
“I got down to 2.6% body fat when I was doing Rocky III … and I couldn’t hold anything down,” Stallone recalled to The New York Times
Sylvester Stallone is speaking candidly about his body image struggles at the height of his fame.
Opening up to The New York Times for a candid new interview published on Saturday, Sept. 26, the 80-year-old actor said he became “obsessed” with his physical appearance in the 1980s, abusing steroids and developing an eating disorder.
“It was my armor,” said Stallone. “I looked at Rocky like a very smooth, normal-looking guy, and then we said, if we move on, I think the character would start to become a bit more vain. And for Rambo, you’re playing a warrior; you’ll be a little bit more animalistic … so I started to think, design your body like a jaguar, a cat.”
“And then it became an obsession, really bad,” the actor continued. “It became to the point where I became bulimic … I got down to 2.6% body fat when I was doing Rocky III … and I couldn’t hold anything down.”
Stallone admitted that he used steroids while making the Rocky films, telling the Times, “I became so obsessed with staying at that point of fitness … it got to me.”
“Nobody does it without additives or drugs; I don’t care what they say … bulls---,” he then claimed of others similarly attempting to achieve peak physical fitness results.
“If you’re going to work and try to stay in shape for six months straight and you’re eating yogurt and pudding, it’s not happening,” Stallone continued. “You have to.”
“But you do it the sensible way — six weeks on, six weeks off,” added the father of five. “People say, ‘You don’t get that way naturally.’ No, you don’t, unless you’re a freak of nature.”
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Sylvester Stallone in ‘Rocky III’Credit: United Artists/Kobal/Shutterstock
Stallone told the Times that his steroid use “took a terrible toll” on his body. He said he is still paying for it decades later.
“I’ve abused [my body]. I’ve had nine back operations, two shoulder operations, three neck fusions, everything,” he said. “I’m held together with baling wire, but I still have the want to stay in good shape.”
Of his health now, Stallone explained, “I’m sort of fit, but you know, I take a lot of pills to keep going. It’s come at a terrible price. If I could do it over again, I would say, let someone else carry the banner, don’t do your own stunts.”
Stallone’s interview with the Times was conducted ahead of the release of I Play Rocky, a movie about the making of the iconic 1976 boxing film, starring Anthony Ippolito as Stallone.
I Play Rocky premieres in select theaters on Nov. 6 and follows nationwide on Nov. 20.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, The Alliance for Eating Disorders provides a fully-staffed helpline at 1-866-662-1235, as well as free, therapist-led support groups.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
