Sylvester Stallone, the man whose movies raked in an astounding $2 billion in the Seventies and Eighties, has spoken frankly about his flagging career and the joy he has found with his third wife Jennifer Flavin. In an exclusive interview in the British newspaper The Mirror, the Rocky star, who once commanded a minimum of $15 million a flick reveals the extent of his reversal in fortune.
The days when he was at the top of every director’s wish list are long gone, he says. “I’ve taken my ideas for a Rocky 6 to MGM and they made it quite clear that there would be no cash until I can prove myself once again with a hit movie.” The 55-year-old former action hero remains philosophical, however, about his fall from favour. “It’s important not to be bitter about it. It’s all about give and take. We’re always fighting time and rejection,” he says. “There are two ways to take rejection. I take it as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat,” he adds.
While he still hasn’t given up on his career – he admits that rumours of him approaching the studios with a view to doing a fourth sequel to Rambo, in which the maverick soldier rescues five girls from Afghanistan, were true – he recognises “it’s unlikely either my Rocky or my Rambo picture will ever get made”.
Despite the doldrums in which his career currently flounders, Sly still considers himself a lucky man. After a lonely and insecure childhood and years of transient relationships, it seems the screen tough guy has finally found peace and happiness with his third wife Jennifer. The 33-year-old former model is due to give birth in June to the couple’s third child. They already have two girls together. “Blazing guns and fantasy heroics hold little allure for me now,” confesses the big screen’s ultimate hard man. “Climbing that mountain of ambition, being so prolific, put the emphasis on the wrong side of my life.” “I believed relationships couldn’t last, therefore the most important thing was to find the exit door early on, so you don’t end up being disappointed and brokenhearted. But then I didn’t have the extraordinary love of my wife and children I didn’t have a real home.” Having finally discovered both, Sly has also found contentment. “I may not be at the top of my career,” he says. “But in my private life, I am.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
