Anthony Ippolito Lands Stallone Role in I Play Rocky — SkimNews
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- Anthony Ippolito, a 27-year-old New Yorker, secured the title role in I Play Rocky after years of unsolicited self-taped auditions; Peter Farrelly and the producers saw him first and did not audition anyone else.
- I Play Rocky shows Ippolito transforming into Stallone through a lower voice, altered posture and a bulking regimen of eating and protein that required a lifestyle shift; Stallone has given the performance a positive reaction.
- I Play Rocky portrays Stallone’s “very dark, lonely time” in New York: working in a fishmonger’s, appearing in an adult movie and taking bit parts as toughs, cops or thugs, while Matt Dillon plays the domineering father who belittles his speech and looks.
- Peter Farrelly recreates the original Rocky shoot as a frantic series of single takes: Stallone worked through a strained tendon, broke his hand punching a frozen side of beef, and hid with the crew and equipment in a walk-in freezer from a union rep threatening the permit.
- Sylvester Stallone turned down $300,000, the equivalent of almost $2 million today, to keep Rocky’s title role, insisting on “no starring role, no deal” despite a heavily pregnant wife and having to sell his dog.
- Anthony Ippolito previously played Al Pacino in The Offer, and his Stallone turn is being talked up for a Best Actor nomination that would place him against Tom Cruise, Matt Damon and John Malkovich.
Why it matters: Anthony Ippolito has gained the title role in I Play Rocky after years of unsolicited tapes, and his performance is being discussed for a Best Actor nomination. Stallone’s rejection of $300,000 to retain Rocky supplies the sharp contrast: treating the part as non-negotiable delivered Stallone the franchise, while Ippolito now leads its making-of retrospective.
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