Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone has admitted to using steroids to get that perfect physique for the roles of Rocky Balboa and John Rambo.
In an interview with The New York Times, the actor said his obsession with maintaining an extremely lean and muscular physique became so intense that he developed bulimia.
“Oh, my god, you have to,” he said when asked about his steroid use, describing a regimen of six weeks on and six weeks off.
He stressed that he viewed the practice differently from recreational drug use, but acknowledged that achieving his famous physique came with serious consequences. “People go, ‘Oh, you don’t get that way naturally.’ No, you don’t,” Stallone said. “But that also took a terrible toll.”
While filming Rocky III, Stallone said he reached an extraordinarily low body-fat level of 2.6%. “Really bad. It got to the point where I became bulimic,” Stallone said.
He explained that he struggled to keep food down as he became increasingly focused on maintaining his physical condition. “I got down to 2.6 percent body fat when I was doing ‘Rocky III,’ and I couldn’t hold anything down,” he said, adding that he had become obsessed with maintaining that level of fitness.
Stallone described the mindset as an “obsessive body-worship kind of thing.”
According to the actor, the culture surrounding Hollywood action stars at the time created enormous pressure to maintain a highly muscular physique for extended periods.
He said actors trying to stay in peak physical condition for months could find it difficult to achieve the desired results through diet and exercise alone.
‘Cop Land’ gave Stallone a break from body obsession
Stallone said his 1997 film Cop Land offered him an opportunity to step away from the physical standards that had defined much of his career. For the role, he allowed himself to move away from the highly muscular image associated with his action films. Stallone described the experience as “somewhat liberated.”
However, he also suggested that the decision came at a professional cost, saying he felt he had “fell out of grace” in Hollywood.
Sylvester Stallone remains active in Hollywood
Despite the changes in his career, Stallone has continued working in film and television. He appeared in the 2024 action thriller Armor and the 2025 crime thriller Alarum. He also stars as mafia boss Dwight Manfredi in the Paramount+ series Tulsa King.
Stallone has remained a major figure in Hollywood decades after Rocky first made him a global star, although his presence in major theatrical blockbusters has become less frequent since Expendables 4 in 2023.
Earlier this year, Stallone was also named a special Hollywood ambassador by President Donald Trump alongside actors Jon Voight and Mel Gibson. The actor said he was surprised when he first heard about the appointment.
“Well, it just happened. I was watching TV one night and they go, ‘So Stallone and Mel Gibson and Jon Voight will be …’ And I went, ‘What?’” Stallone recalled.
He also expressed doubts about how such a role would work, comparing Hollywood to “feudal states” made up of different kingdoms. Stallone said he did not believe it would be easy for three actors to tell major studios how to operate.
