Before He Played Sylvester Stallone in ‘I Play Rocky,’ Star Anthony Ippolito Fought Hard for His Own Big Break

I don’t think I was supposed to hear Anthony Ippolito when he exclaimed, “20 minutes?” right before this interview, as he was given the amount of time this interview would last. Though, it kind of hit me, if you’re not used to doing interviews — and there’s no way Ippolito can be at this young stage of his career — 20 minutes is a long time to make conversation with a total stranger. Especially, as he is quick to point out, after a barrage of quick, three-minute interviews. Ippolito has been in films and television before — kind of famously now, he played Al Pacino in “The Offer” — but none of those were roles in which he’d have to do press. Let alone playing the lead role in a major motion picture in which everyone wants to talk to him. Oh, and that lead role is as … Sylvester Stallone. In “I Play Rocky,” yes, Ippolito plays Stallone at the make or break point in Stallone’s career. Stallone had written “Rocky,” a very in-demand script. Not in demand was the idea of Stallone playing Rocky — as MGM offers more and more money to Stallone in an effort to get him to not play Rocky. (If you don’t know, Stallone stuck to his guns, played Rocky, and is now a very wealthy and famous actor.) Directed by Peter Farrelly, Ippolito says he sent in multiple tapes trying to land this role — which does seem to be in the same spirit as the film itself. Though, Ippolito said, when he was actually going through the casting process, that’s not at all what he was thinking, even though it may seem that way now. Ahead, he tells us (yes, over the course of 20 minutes) the Stallone movies he used to prep for playing Stallone, what is was like to talk to Stallone before filming, and why he loves Stallone and Dolly Parton together in “Rhinestone.” Also, if he had to play Stallone again in another movie, he does have another “I Play” installment in mind… The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. Anthony Ippolito: 20 minutes? IndieWire: You seem excited about this being 20 minutes? It’s a little strange, I’ve been having three-minute increment conversations with somebody. So, yes, I am excited. OK, so how many Stallone movies did you watch? Did you stick to that era? His voice kind of evolves by the late ‘80s. Yeah, I really tried to stay focused on a period of time. I don’t know the exact number. More so, from the stuff I was looking at I was watching it over and over again, rewatching. With the exception of a few. Like what? Well, “Rocky Balboa.” It’s one of the best movies of the franchise. For people who haven’t seen that one in a while, it’s very sweet. It really is. It really is. And he does some excellent work in it. And I think it’s really powerful that he was able to come back many years later, after the fifth one, and make this incredible movie. From closer to the “Rocky” era, I kind of love him in “The Prisoner of Second Avenue.” Jack Lemmon thinks he stole his wallet… Yes! It’s just scene after scene of Jack Lemmon chasing Stallone through Central Park trying to get his wallet back… Just a little bit. ‘I Play Rocky‘Amazon MGM But then Jack Lemmon realizes he left his wallet at home and wound up being the one who mugged Stallone. But he was mistaken for a mugger and this was part of his issue, right? It’s funny watching it now, because it’s so obviously Sylvester Stallone. So it’s amusing the whole role is just him being chased. I agree with you and I found that throughout a lot of the stuff I was unearthing throughout this process. In that, if he hadn’t become famous, I’d still look at him and think, “what an interesting looking dude,” and wonder what happened to him. And now we know. Speaking of that, there were times during “I Play Rocky,” knowing full well what happens in real life, and I’m still like, “Maybe just take the money. That’s a lot.” It’s really remarkable. Especially when you convert the amount from what it was then to what it would be now. I know you made a video for your audition which involved an old punching bag and gloves. What were you saying in it? Oh, well, there was certain dialogue I was coming up with, or thinking of coming up with. And I hadn’t had my hands on too much of the script at this point. So I was just trying to capture his physicality and his movement as a boxer. I was just really passionate about the project. I wanted to put myself out there in a way. And, thankfully, I was able to get my hands on the script a bit later on. So are you doing lines from “Rocky”? Or just stuff you came up with on your own? I toyed with a lot of stuff… I ask because that’s a time when you haven’t gained the weight yet, so you’re not in the physical condition you are when filming. So I feel you had to really sell this dialogue? Which obviously worked. Yeah, I mean … it was difficult to come up with that part of it. I had given myself inspiration with some parts of the original film, and some parts from what I felt would work for dialogue from what I was understanding of the story. And then once I was able to get the script, then I was able to just put scenes on tape. And then continuously send them stuff until they relented. Oh, there was more than one? You just kept going? Ohhhh, yeah. Well, that’s the spirit of this movie. Did you feel that way when you were sending them in? “Well, that’s what Stallone did.” Hm … maybe? You know, it seems that way kind of now? Now that it’s worked out. Right. But at that time, I was just like, “I probably seem crazy to everyone who is on the other end of this.” See, just like Stallone. Yeah, but I wasn’t thinking about that part for some reason, I guess. Which is probably good, if you were getting ahead of yourself it doesn’t work out the way it did? Yeah, you’re probably right. I know you spoke to Stallone before filming. A year ago, he was saying he knew nothing about this movie. When and how did that change? Peter Farrelly tells a funny story about that. He had actually met with Stallone prior to that and discussed his level of involvement. And they discussed how Stallone would kind of not be necessarily in the trenches with us, just for the sake of Peter not wanting people to feel like Stallone had his hand in it in a way that it was shaped… ‘I Play Rocky’Amazon MGM Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection And historically Stallone never does that. I say that sarcastically because I’m well aware he has a specific vision for any movie he’s involved in… Right. Right. So, Stallone went back after that and told somebody he has no idea about it. And Peter was like, “What are you doing?” And Stallone said, “You told me to separate myself.” And Peter was like, “Not that far, man!” So, I guess that was just a bit of a communication breakdown. So in Stallone’s mind, he was doing a favor by saying that? I’m not sure, but I was able to speak with him about a month before we started shooting. And I’m very grateful he was willing to take the time What was that like? Was he in good spirits or was he apprehensive? He was in great spirits about it. I was nervous, as you could probably imagine. I met him once. He can be intimidating. Yeah, and not only that, I had done so much of my own research. So, up to that point, it was really built up as this really big thing in my head. So, I was just really, really excited to meet him and to listen to him. He was really, really generous and disarming and very willing to share what that period of time was like for him. What did he tell you that you don’t know already? Oh, man. Well, he discussed with me building the character of Rocky as a writer. That’s where it became really interesting to me. Because he had studied filmmaking and writing while being an usher. So, hearing his perspective and his kind of clinical breakdown of how he approaches a script and of a character? It was hugely informative in developing and my understanding of this side of him as a writer. From that, what changed on how you approached playing him? How does that conversation inform what we see? You just really understand that this thing is his baby. And it really makes more sense that these numbers going so high during these negotiations because the script is that good. And so well written. Yeah, he’s a terrific writer and I think he proved that to Chartoff and Winkler with “Paradise Alley,” first. My only experience with him was at the afterparty for “The Family Stallone.” He shows up at this restaurant in Little Italy and it’s like the Red Sea parting. Everyone stopped talking and made room so he could walk by. When he got near me I said, “Hey, Sly,” which I immediately regretted. He stopped, looked at me, and gave me a little nod. A little nod! He then walked off and I thought, “You know, good enough.” Are you glad that you said it now? I feel like I would be. I am. He acknowledged I existed. That’s cool. But you keep bringing up meeting Wim Wenders. I know you’re a fan of his, is there something maybe happening? I got to meet him at the Zurich Film Festival. I know you like his movies, are you going to work with him? I just think he makes great films, he’s made great films and he was a really, really sweet man and we got to speak. That’s pretty much it. What other filmmakers do you like? I feel that way about so many. Well, Scorsese obviously. Richard Linklater, Derek Cianfrance, Tim Burton. That’s an eclectic group. “Place Beyond the Pines” and “Beetlejuice” are very different movies. Very different movies. Well, I like that, You can go in so many different directions. And I appreciate directors and filmmakers who are singular. And that is kind of the thing about Stallone, too. Did you look at the movies Stallone directed? Honestly, well, I know he directed all the “Rocky” movies other than the first and fifth ones. And I understand he directed more stuff past that as well. But I hadn’t specifically looked at stuff he directed for this. How far back did you go back to watch with Peter Farrelly’s films? Did you go back to “Dumb & Dumber”? I’ve seen so much of his stuff already. So there’s not one that jumped out at me, but also, obviously, “There’s Something About Mary.” It’s still so funny… It really is. I think he really killed it with that one. I mean, he has such an incredible sensibility. And he’s always aware of something on set. If there’s a moment to be discovered, to make a meal out of it, he’ll find it. I always think about, “Unless someone comes up with six-minute abs.” “No, seven. Not six.” On social media a lot of people are doing their own “I Play …,” then insert any other Stallone movie type posts. If you had to play him again, what movie would you want to do? Oh, man. Like, “I Play Cobra,” would be interesting. I do love “Cobra.” You know, I guess I’m not the right age for this, but “I Play Rocky Balboa” would be very interesting… That’s the first one you saw, right? Well, it’s the first one I remember. I would have had to have seen the ones prior? To the point I’m in the theater for “Rocky Balboa.” Well, not necessarily. The first one I saw was “Rocky III”… Oh, really? OK then. Because it was the one on cable all the time. Then I was told, “Oh, you know, the first one is a lot different.” Yeah, I was pretty young, but I do remember seeing “Rocky Balboa.” And I just think there’s something interesting about the fact that, similar to how he’s fighting the boxing commission at the time to let him fight, because they think that he can’t, or shouldn’t — I think he was having a similar dialogue with the studio at the time. About him making the movie in the first place. It’s interesting, even at that point, they still didn’t think they could take a chance on him making a “Rocky” movie. I guess, yeah. It’s strange, but history does repeat itself. Have you seen “Rhinestone”? Of course. Ah, OK, it’s not streaming, so it’s a little harder to find. It’s just interesting this is only a few years after “Rocky” and now he’s on stage singing with Dolly Parton. It’s kind of fascination what that one decision did for him… It’s very true. And I think Dolly Parton is spectacular in that. Oh, I agree. How good is she in that? Right? I mean, she has such a warmth to her. I mean, yeah. She’s just incredible in the movie and it makes it so fun. The two of them! They are dynamic. You could also make “I Play Nick Martinelli.” We’ll see. So what are the lessons you personally took away from playing Stallone? I can’t help but think there are lessons here for actors starting out. I agree. Well, he really overcame so much and he didn’t have too many people in his corner at the time. I mean, thankfully, he had Sasha who was there for him, who AnnaSophia Robb plays in the movie. And she’s so great in it. And as much as you want to see Stallone persevere, and be kind of a lone wolf through this? For actors there’s meaning in that, and there’s a lesson to be learned in that. But there’s also a lesson to be found in Sasha. Because you need that person sometimes in your life. Or sometimes it’s good to be that person for people — to remind people to believe in themselves. Because, no matter what, Stallone overcame so much, but of course he doubted himself. And if you don’t have at least somebody who is there, willing to be that person to remind you to believe in yourself, it’s a tough road. See, we did 20 minutes, it wasn’t bad. No, no, not bad at all. Amazon MGM Studios will release “I Play Rocky” in select theaters on Friday, November 6, before going wide on Friday, November 20.