Sylvester Stallone Reveals Steroid Use and Bulimia Struggle During 'Rocky III' Filming

Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone has disclosed a past struggle with bulimia and acknowledged his use of steroids during the preparation for his role in the 1982 film "Rocky III." In a recent interview with The New York Times, Stallone detailed the intense physical demands of portraying the boxer and the extreme measures he took to achieve the character's physique.

Stallone described the period as an "obsession" with his body, driven by the need to embody characters like Rocky Balboa and Rambo. He revealed that he maintained an extremely low body fat percentage, reportedly 2.6%, for "Rocky III," which led to significant physical and psychological challenges. "I couldn’t hold anything down. Or I didn’t want to keep it down because I became so obsessed with staying at that point of fitness, literally an obsessive body-worship kind of thing," he told the publication.

He also commented on the pressures actors faced in the 1980s to maintain peak physical condition. "It isn’t as though you’re a junkie, but if you’re going to work out and try to stay in shape for six months straight, and you’re eating yogurt and pudding, it’s not happening," Stallone stated, suggesting that drug use was perceived as necessary by some in the industry.

Stallone explained that he engaged in cycles of steroid use, typically six weeks on and six weeks off, acknowledging the significant toll these practices took on his body. He did not specify the exact performance-enhancing drugs he used.

The actor, who has received multiple Academy Award nominations and a Golden Globe for his work in the Rocky series, found some relief from these intense physical regimens later in his career. He noted that the 1997 film "Cop Land," in which he played a sheriff with a disability, allowed him to relax his stringent body standards. However, he characterized this period as a time when things "went sideways" and he "fell out of grace with Hollywood."

Stallone, 80, has continued to work in film and television, with recent projects including "Expendables 4" in 2023 and starring roles in the Paramount+ series "Tulsa King." He was also named one of President Donald Trump's special Hollywood ambassadors earlier this year alongside actors Jon Voight and Mel Gibson, a role he expressed surprise and some apprehension about.