How a Little-Known Actor Became Rocky's New Face on Screen

When Peter Farrelly met Sylvester Stallone, the conversation boiled down to one clear request. Cast someone who wasn’t already a household name. Simple. Radical. Honest.

The film is I Play Rocky, a behind-the-scenes retelling of how Rocky came to be. At the center of Farrelly’s gamble is 27-year-old Anthony Ippolito, tasked with the unusual challenge of portraying both Sylvester Stallone and the movie’s iconic pugilist, Rocky Balboa. Stallone, who said he was surprised to hear about the project and insisted he wasn’t steering production, still made his opinion known when asked for input — a single plea that would steer casting choices.

Stallone’s one request: choose someone relatively unknown, because Rocky’s soul came from an actor who started from nothing.

Farrelly had already shown the script to Stallone, who gave his tentative blessing, and the casting team began humming in the background. The formal search hadn’t yet taken off when Ippolito heard about the project and decided to make his own break. He found the screenplay, set up a camera in his grandmother’s Long Island basement, and recorded three separate scenes as audition tapes. One of those scenes was the famous last-moment doorway beat from Rocky — a small, electric fragment of cinematic history.

He sent the footage to Farrelly, who passed it on to casting director Rick Montgomery. The response was immediate: Farrelly saw in Ippolito the precise balance the film needed — the faint grain of Stallone the actor and the raw heartbeat of Rocky the character. Ippolito had appeared before, in Pixels (2015) and in the 2022 Paramount miniseries The Offer as Al Pacino, but he was not the kind of star whose name would overshadow the story.

Why risk such an important role on a lesser-known performer? Because authenticity was the point. Farrelly explains that Ippolito understands the line between Stallone and Rocky: the difference is subtle, but it matters. There’s no wink. No caricature. When Ippolito walks into a scene as Stallone, it can feel like watching Stallone himself at work; when he becomes Rocky, the boxer’s worn hope takes over.

Reaction hasn’t been quiet. I Play Rocky bowed at TIFF 2026 to warm notices and, according to 62 Rotten Tomatoes reviews, holds an 87 percent score. Critics praised the film’s tonal clarity and Ippolito’s performance, and awards-season chatter is already picking up. The release plan follows a classic awards-friendly arc: a limited opening on November 6, followed by a wide release beginning November 20.

The supporting cast is populated with familiar faces who bring texture to the era: AnnaSophia Robb as Sasha Czack, Matt Dillon as Frank Stallone Sr., P. J. Byrne as Irwin Winkler, Toby Kebbell as Robert Chartoff, Stephan James as Carl Weathers, J. DePlass as John G. Avildsen, Robert Morgan as Burgess Meredith, Kiki Stokes as Talia Shire, Scott Tiller as Burt Young, and Tracy Letts as Sandy Medows. The screenplay is by Peter Gamble and the director’s chair is Farrelly’s.

There’s a certain poetry to the choice. Rocky’s legend began with an unknown stepping into the ring and surprising everyone. This film mirrors that origin story behind the camera and on it. Will audiences accept a fresh face under those gloves? If early reactions are any guide, they just might.