Sylvester Stallone's Honest Take on I Play Rocky Revealed

He watched and, for a heartbeat, forgot who he was. Sylvester Stallone sat in a theater seat like any other viewer and found himself surprised by Anthony Ippolito's uncanny recreation of his younger self.

On CBS Mornings Stallone admitted he came in ready to pick the performance apart. He expected to critique the walk, the voice, the posture. Instead he kept thinking, I moved like that. I sounded like that. The film, directed by Peter Farrelly, follows the period when Stallone was fighting to play the role he had written — the story behind Rocky and the stubborn effort to get it made.

Stallone said he planned to be harsh, then realized Ippolito had captured mannerisms and rhythms so precisely he began watching as a fan, not as the man whose life was on screen.

This reaction matters because it marks a shift from an earlier stance. In mid-2025 Stallone publicly said he had no involvement with the project and was surprised to learn it was being made; he also noted he could have offered firsthand detail about making the original Rocky. Now, after seeing the finished film, his tone is far warmer.

I Play Rocky premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and has drawn solid reviews since. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists a 74 percent critics score for the biopic, compared with the original Rocky's 93 percent. For Ippolito the challenge went beyond a costume and haircut: he had to mimic Stallone's speech, physicality and even boxing style. Critics and Stallone himself agree that he largely succeeded.

Preparation for the role was gritty. Ippolito trained at New York's historic Gleason's Gym, where he logged hours of boxing drills and picked up a few minor injuries along the way. Stallone joked that the young actor must have taken a few hits to the head — then clarified there were no serious concussions, only the small bruises common to intense training.

Remember: the original Rocky launched one of Hollywood's most enduring sports franchises — six Rocky films and three Creed spin-offs — and the 1976 original earned 10 Oscar nominations and won three, including Best Picture. I Play Rocky aims to revisit that origin story from a personal angle, exploring how stubbornness, pride and conviction turned a struggling actor into a cultural icon.

Audiences in the United States can see I Play Rocky when it opens wide on November 20, 2026. Whether you go to relive the myth or to judge a new portrayal, the movie promises a behind-the-scenes look that even its subject says made him see himself anew.