Sylvester Stallone went through an extremely difficult time before he gained international recognition with his iconic Rocky Balboa role in the Rocky franchise starting with the 1976 movie. Since then, he has continued to show his utmost dedication to his craft which only strengthened his credibility in the action genre.
Sylvester Stallone

Given that his career took to greater heights with the popular franchise, he has equal credit for the film to rise to the top. He went through several hardships to make his fights as authentic as possible which once almost risked his health.

Sylvester Stallone was Nearly Killed by Dolph Lundgren

 
Sylvester Stallone [right] and Dolph Lundgren [left’

In a 2019 Cannes Film Festival viaVulture, action-star,Sylvester Stallonerecalled an extremely difficult time when he was filmingRocky IVwith his co-star, Dolph Lundgren. He shared about hating his co-star as soon as he met him.

“Dolph Lundgren walked in, and I hated him immediately,” he stated. “I had to find a superhuman being as an opponent, someone who would be overwhelming.”
Acknowledging his strength, he knew that he was the one who could be a great rival.
“This is what I would imagine they would create as an athlete — someone who is literally perfect. Indestructible.”
However, when the duo decided to spar to shoot for their project, it didn’t end well. The former decided to test his opponent’s skills which was something he super underestimated.
“I told him, ‘Why don’t we just do it? Just try to knock me out. Really cut loose as hard as you can.’ That was a really stupid thing to say.”
The next thing that happened was far from pleasant with the Rambo actor spending his next few days in the hospital.
“He hit me so hard he almost stopped my heart,” he said. “Next thing I know, I’m on a low-altitude plane to the emergency room, and I’m in intensive care for four days. And there are all these nuns around.”
While he suffered a major blow at the time, it didn’t affect the bond they share. Even the latter praised the actor for his heavy blows.

Dolph Lundgren Had Praises for Sylvester Stallone’s Punches

Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren
While the duo’s filming match was quite intense, it didn’t mean that Stallone was any weak. Lundgren who has worked with Carl Weathers in Creed & Rocky franchise told PageSix how The Expendables star’s punches were more powerful than his co-star.
“Sly punched harder than Weathers. Weathers was all about speed and jabs,” he stated. “Sly was more about hooks.”
He was astonished to witness that the Rocky star was a good fighter meanwhile he tried hard not to fight for real.
“I was actually pretty surprised at how well Sly could fight. I fought for real and had to learn how to fake it! He was really committed.”
The 1985 film, Rocky IV received mixed reviews but it was a box-office blockbuster that grossed $300 million worldwide. In 2021, a director’s cut, Rocky IV: Rocky vs Drago was released which received positive reviews from critics.

Rocky IV is streaming on Prime Video.

Source: Vulture