SJM Feature - Stallone - FINAL_Profile ( Dept . ) 7 / 30 / 19 6 : 34 PM Page 4 AT LEFT : STALLONE REPRISES HIS ROLE AS JOHN RAMBO IN LAST BLOOD BELOW : AS ROCKY BALBOA IN CREED II You were very convincing as one of those things . I was tion that Rocky is a boxing movie , it’s not . Rocky at the height of your born in Hell’s Kitchen , so I It’s more a movie that has boxing in it and training . Do you think that you had my accent to overcome Rocky exists in isolation and is reborn could have made it as a profes - and I was very , very thin . once he meets a woman . Boxing is just sional boxer ? So , it wasn’t until I saw a his job ; he could have been anything in [ Laughs ] Probably not , no . film called Hercules life . But the boxing element is a he T Unchained and I thought , metaphor because life is a fight against reason being that I actually had “ Hey , here’s a guy who can the odds and a race against time . It will a few reality checks when I was single - handedly defeat the always be that . training for Rocky III . In the first Roman army with the jaw - One funny thing is that I still have the Rocky movie , I was so awkward . bone of an axe . ” I was two turtles from the first Rocky film So , for the third film , I thought almost 45 years ago and they’re about as to myself , “ You know what , let obsessed with trying to emu - big as I am . They are the only friends that me use a real fighter [ to train ] . ” late him and wondered what I have left [ laughs ] . Maybe I should just he was eating to get like that . So , I brought in Joe Frazier make another Rocky movie and join Ever since then , I have fol - and he was in the ring for maybe them in the bowl ; they are nearly as old lowed Steve Reeves [ the actor 11 seconds and I had four THE “ ROCKY ” STATUE as I am . who played Hercules in the stitches above my left eye . He AT THE PHILADELPHIA film ] and I was very just thought it was no challenge , MUSEUM OF ART How much do impressed with that . it’s an actor . Then , I brought in you enjoy the creative I actually had a very late start in ath - Earnie Shavers and he just started to bob process of writing ? letics , and I didn’t have a lot of interaction and weave and I thought , “ Oh , I will be Well , my daughter wanted to be a writer with sports early on . In fact , I remember able to run him no problem . ” and I told her : “ No you don’t ! ” Writing is a that when I was in third grade in school , horror , it is so difficult and whereas it is so Some people told me that Earnie was we were playing baseball and I was rewarding , it is also so painful at times slow . Slow ? First of all , he’s a former all - catcher . Someone hit a pop - up and I put because you are constantly challenging state halfback — total speed . The bell my hands up to cover my head instead of yourself to put words onto a piece of rings and the next thing , I am in the cor - trying to catch the ball . It was a traumatic paper . ner and I can’t get out . He starts to unload experience for me and to this day that It’s an extremely difficult , precise and he hits me just on the arms and I haunts me . endeavor and it requires so many said : “ Someone has released a Buick into rewrites until you read something , and the ring ! ” You had undiagnosed attention deficit you shout : “ I got it ! ” Then , the next time It literally felt like I was bouncing disorder and during high school you you read it , it makes you wonder who against chrome and I started to squeal . I played on wrote it because it’s that bad . I always say got in touch with my feminine side very , football team where all the a to those people who want to write : “ If it’s very quickly . Then , I did one with players suffered from the same thing . not your passion , don’t do it ! ” [ Roberto ] Duran and I’m thinking , “ I’ll What was that experience like ? My daughter tells me she wants to be beat him . ” Yeah , right . Yeah , the huddle before each k.complay a writer and so I went and got about I don’t know if you’ve ever saw a man became a group therapy session [ laughs ] . 100 rstoc go from a young Italian to Roquefort It became like an intervention , everyone notebooks from my office and it made utte cheese.You know the color of Roquefort ? having a meltdown . People asking , me realize again that I wish I could type . . / ShI Blue cheese . Blue , yellow , tapioca - col - “ Where’s my medication ? ” told her that for every one word that Hyou G . a ored . He was extraordinary . It was horrifying and we lost all of the are going to use , there are 500 more that elen But there were certain earmarks 10 games that we played . So , I know what you’re not . After that , she decided to go H by they’d give away [ that should have served the kids of today are going through when back to college . raph as a warning sign ] . When [ Duran ] was they feel frustrated and everyone otoglabels starting to work the them as a “ bad kid . ” It’s just about being As a kid , you were teased a lot . Why was speed bag with phhis ue focused on an activity or a job which that ? head , you know that you shouldn’t be in stata keeps them busy and then they will learn Well , I had a speech impediment which I ring with him . [ He was doing it ] with ockyhis n about life properly . probably still carry to this day and it was head , as fast as I can move my hands . R S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E | V O L U M E 1 6 • I S S U E 5 | S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E . C O M | 4 3