An Evening with Sylvester Stallone - London

On Saturday the celebrated London Palladium played host to a true Hollywood heavyweight. Following a week in town doing the publicity rounds for new comedy Grudge Match, an enthusiastic and energised Sylvester Stallone took to the stage to chat about his life and career in an evening which proved to be inspiring as expected. Stallone’s incredible success really is the embodiment of the American Dream, and very much reflects the rags-to-riches, going the distance world of his most famous creation and the character which put him on the road to international success, Rocky Balboa.

After a brief montage of his work, Stallone arrived to great fanfare, accompanied by (surprise, surprise) Bill Conti’s iconic Gonna Fly Now from Rocky. Relaxed and loose, the actor had an easy rapport with the audience of dedicated fans, and his jovial, good-natured journey through his life and filmography was part amusing reminiscences, part self-help-style anecdotal wisdom. Interviewed by Jonathan Ross (who looked to be having way more fun here than on his talk show) the Rambo star proved to be a great raconteur, and was forthright about the challenges and barriers he faced growing up. Stallone’s childhood saw him living in New York’s infamous Hell’s Kitchen and he talked a little about the early years, where his love for the cinema far exceeded his enjoyment of education:

“I got into a lot of trouble [at school]. It wasn’t the kind of trouble you’d call ‘criminal’, it was more mischievous. I didn’t do well with the idea of education. I couldn’t concrete long enough so I played hooky and I spent hundreds of hours in movie theatres watching the same film over and over again, and then I’d go home and try and re-enact The Vikings in my living room.”

He was candid about his huge ego he developed following the success of Rocky:

“I was terrible. I abused power badly. I was an authority on everything and became insufferable. I look at some of my old interviews now and I wish I could punch myself in the face. It was horrifying.”

Stallone was brought back down to earth when he left the set of Rocky II to attend a first-day showing of the 1978 drama which marked his directorial debut, Paradise Alley, only to find there were just two people in the audience (“and one of them was asleep!”). Unsurprisingly, a significant portion of the chat was devoted to both The Italian Stallion and wronged Vietnam vet-turned commie-killing superhero John Rambo.

These two characters very much define the man, and it’s remarkable just how well-loved and durable his big-screen creations remain, particularly the first one. Mentioning briefly that the Rocky spin-off Creed would probably happen, the rapturous applause from the audience was a clear indicator that there’s still life left in that old pugilist. If the brief audience Q&A section was the shambolic, attention-grabbing affair to be expected (these evenings would work so much better without observer participation) Ross was able to skilfully and humorously deflect the worst self-indulgent questions/requests aimed at Stallone.

The evening ended in typically underwhelming English style, with the star him being inducted into the London Palladium Hall of Fame which involved the presentation of cheap-looking framed poster of the event and a Nelson Mandela watch (?!). However, this wasn’t enough to distract from what was a hugely entertaining night in the company of a genuine Hollywood legend.

An Evening with Sylvester Stallone - London

An Evening with Sylvester Stallone - London

An Evening with Sylvester Stallone - London