Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
☼ Né le 6 mai 1946, à New York City, New York, USA
Biographie
Sylvester Stallone is an athletically built, dark-haired American actor/screenwriter/director/producer, the movie fans worldwide have been flocking to see Stallone's films for over 40 years, making "Sly" one of Hollywood's biggest-ever box office draws. Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6, 1946, in New York's gritty
Hell's Kitchen, to Jackie Stallone
(née
Labofish), an astrologer, and
Frank Stallone
<span id="bootstrapp2200613" class="modal-dialog modal-dial
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, a beautician
and hairdresser. His father was an Italian immigrant, and his mother's
heritage is half French (from Brittany) and half German. The
young Stallone attended the American College of Switzerland and
The University of Miami, eventually obtaining a B.A. degree. Initially, he
struggled in small parts in films such as the soft-core
The Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970)
,
the thriller Klute (1971)
and the comedy
Bananas (1971)
. He got a crucial career
break alongside fellow young actor
Henry Winkler
, sharing lead billing in the
effectively written teen gang film
The Lords of Flatbush (1974)
.
Further film and television roles followed, most of them in uninspiring
productions except for the opportunity to play a megalomaniac,
bloodthirsty race driver named "Machine Gun Joe Viterbo" in the
Roger Corman
-produced
Death Race 2000 (1975)
. However,
Stallone was also keen to be recognized as a screenwriter, not just an
actor, and, inspired by the 1975 Muhammad Ali-Chuck Wepner fight in
Cleveland, Stallone wrote a film script about a nobody fighter given
the "million to one opportunity" to challenge for the heavyweight
title. Rocky (1976)
became the stuff of
cinematic legends, scoring ten Academy Award nominations, winning the
Best Picture Award of 1976 and triggering one of the most financially
successful movie series in history! Whilst full credit is wholly
deserved by Stallone, he was duly supported by tremendous acting from
fellow cast members Talia Shire
,
Burgess Meredith
and
Burt Young
, and director
John G. Avildsen
gave the film an
emotive, earthy appeal from start to finish. Stallone had truly arrived
on his terms, and offers poured in from various studios eager to secure
Hollywood's hottest new star. Stallone followed Rocky (1976)
with
F.I.S.T. (1978)
, loosely based on the life
of Teamsters boss "Jimmy Hoffa", and
Paradise Alley (1978)
before
pulling on the boxing gloves again to resurrect Rocky Balboa in the
sequel Rocky II (1979)
. The second
outing for the "Italian Stallion" wasn't as powerful or successful as
the first "Rocky", however, it still produced strong box office.
Subsequent films Nighthawks (1981)
and
Victory (1981)
failed to ignite with
audiences, so Stallone was once again lured back to familiar territory
with Rocky III (1982)
and a fearsome
opponent in "Clubber Lang" played by muscular ex-bodyguard
Mr. T
. The third "Rocky" installment far
outperformed the first sequel in box office takings, but Stallone
retired his prizefighter for a couple of years as another
series was about to commence for the busy actor. The character of Green Beret "John Rambo" was the creation of
Canadian-born writer
David Morrell
, and his novel was
adapted to the screen with Stallone in the lead role in
First Blood (1982)
, also starring
Richard Crenna
and
Brian Dennehy
. The movie was a surprise
hit that polarized audiences because of its commentary about the
Vietnam war, which was still relatively fresh in the American public's
psyche. Political viewpoints aside, the film was a worldwide smash, and
a sequel soon followed with
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
,
which drew even stronger criticism from several quarters owing to the
film's plot line about American MIAs allegedly being held in Vietnam.
But they say there is no such thing as bad publicity, and "John
Rambo's" second adventure was a major money spinner for Stallone and
cemented him as one of the top male stars of the 1980s. Riding a wave
of amazing popularity, Stallone called on old sparring partner Rocky
Balboa to climb back into the ring to defend American pride against a
Soviet threat in the form of a towering Russian boxer named "Ivan
Drago" played by curt Dolph Lundgren
in
Rocky IV (1985)
. The fourth outing was
somewhat controversial with "Rocky" fans, as violence levels seemed
excessive compared to previous "Rocky" films, especially with the
savage beating suffered by Apollo Creed, played by
Carl Weathers
, at the hands of the
unstoppable "Siberian Express". Stallone continued forward with a slew of macho character-themed films
that met with a mixed reception from his fans.
Cobra (1986)
was a clumsy mess,
Over the Top (1987)
was equally
mediocre, Rambo III (1988)
saw Rambo
take on the Russians in Afghanistan, and cop buddy film
Tango & Cash (1989)
just did not
quite hit the mark, although it did feature a top-notch cast and there
was chemistry between Stallone and co-star
Kurt Russell
. Philadelphia's favorite mythical boxer moved out of the shadows for his
fifth screen outing in Rocky V (1990)
tackling Tommy "Machine" Gunn played by real-life heavyweight fighter
Tommy Morrison
, the great-nephew
of screen legend John Wayne
. Sly
quickly followed with the lukewarm comedy
Oscar (1991)
, the painfully unfunny
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)
,
the futuristic action film
Demolition Man (1993)
, and the
comic book-inspired
Judge Dredd (1995)
. Interestingly,
Stallone then took a departure from the gung-ho steely characters he
had been portraying to stack on a few extra pounds and tackle a more
dramatically challenging role in the intriguing
Cop Land (1997)
, also starring
Robert De Niro
and
Ray Liotta
. It isn't a classic of the genre,
but Cop Land (1997)
certainly surprised
many critics with Stallone's understated performance. Stallone then
lent his vocal talents to the animated adventure story
Antz (1998)
, reprised the role made famous
by Michael Caine
in a terrible
remake of Get Carter (2000)
, climbed
back into a race car for Driven (2001)
,
and guest-starred as the "Toymaker" in the third chapter of the
immensely popular "Spy Kids" film series,
Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003)
.
Showing that age had not wearied his two most popular series,
Stallone has most recently brought back never-say-die boxer Rocky
Balboa to star in, well, what else but
Rocky Balboa (2006)
, and Vietnam
veteran Rambo (2008)
will reappear after a
20-year hiatus to once again right wrongs in the jungles of Thailand. Love him or loathe him, Sylvester Stallone has built an enviable and
highly respected career in Hollywood, plus, he has considerably
influenced modern popular culture through several of his iconic film
characters.
Dans le rôle de réalisateur
Rambo (21/08/2008)
Rambo , aka Rambo IV. Nouveau concentré de violence, idéal pour les adeptes du Moloko de Clockwork orange (Orange mécanique) ? Certainement pas. C’est que derrière le dernier opus de la série, se cache une critique et un regard désabusé sur la guerre, sur l’homme. Après des deuxième et troisième épisode de la série qui […]