Sylvester Stallone has revealed that the intense physical demands he placed on himself for the Rocky and Rambo franchises led him to develop an eating disorder. The 80-year-old actor opened up about the struggle during a candid interview with The New York Times, reflecting on the toll his career took on his body and mental health. When asked about his physique and how his relationship with his body had changed over the decades, Stallone initially responded, “Well, now you’re getting personal.”

As detailed by LADbible, Stallone said the muscular look he became famous for grew into more than a professional requirement. He explained that as the Rocky films progressed, he began to view his character as increasingly vain and physically imposing. For Rambo, he wanted to “design your body like a jaguar, a cat.” He added that the goal was to look “not big like Arnold, but more feral and aggressive.”

That pursuit eventually spiraled into what he now describes as a dangerous obsession. “It got to the point where I became bulimic,” Stallone said. “You heard it here first.” He said he reached a low point while filming Rocky III in 1982, when he became so preoccupied with his fitness that he “couldn’t hold anything down.”

Stallone also spoke openly about his steroid use during that period, saying it was necessary to maintain such a physique while restricting his diet and training intensely. When asked directly if he had used them, he replied, “Oh, my god, you have to.” He views this stretch of his life as one of the most damaging phases he has experienced.

The physical consequences of his career have been significant, as he revealed he has undergone nine back operations, two shoulder operations, and three neck fusions. “Everything is held together with baling wire, but I still want to stay in good shape,” he said. His Rambo character was later added to Call of Duty as a Warzone operator skin in 2021.

Stallone said his perspective only began to shift when he played Freddy Heflin, a partially deaf and overweight sheriff, in the 1997 crime drama Cop Land. He said he felt “somewhat liberated” when he had to play the “weakest guy in the room.” When asked if he still considers his physique a form of armor, he quickly said, “No, no, no.”

At 80, Stallone remains committed to fitness, though he admitted he takes “a lot of pills to keep going.” He added, “It’s come at a terrible price.” If he could go back, he said he would let someone else “carry the banner” and avoid doing his own stunts. He described his past behavior as “very masochistic” and said a career like his leaves behind a “mountain” of regrets. Stallone also did not reprise Rocky Balboa in Creed III following a dispute over the franchise rights.

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