‘Rocky’ Star Sylvester Stallone Threatened to Knock A-List Co-Star’s ‘Teeth Out’ in Explosive On-Set Clash

Hollywood legends have no shortage of behind-the-scenes stories, but few involve fists, chicken grease and a very unlikely pairing. A new memoir has shed light on one of the strangest. Sylvester Stallone’s on-set feud with Richard Gere has gotten a fresh retelling, straight from Stallone himself.

Long before Stallone threw punches in ‘Rocky’ and Gere became a romantic lead, both actors were young and unknown, chasing parts in a low-budget comedy. That film, 1974’s ‘The Lords of Flatbush,’ was a small production with big consequences for both of them. The set turned out to be a pressure cooker.

Stallone’s account appears in his memoir ‘The Steps,’ which came out on September 29. In it, he describes how tension with Gere began during the audition process and escalated into a physical altercation during filming. He says he threatened to knock Gere’s teeth out in front of the director, and later followed through on the sentiment in a different form.

According to Stallone, the trouble started at the audition, which was also where he met Robert De Niro. Things went well with De Niro at first, but improvisations with Gere quickly soured. Stallone recalls that Gere grabbed his T-shirt and dug his fingernails into his skin, and that he asked Gere to back off, only to have it happen again on the next take.

He then asked co-director Stephen Verona whether he could react the way he would in real life if someone did that to him. When Verona asked what that meant, Stallone said he would knock Gere’s teeth out. Verona asked him not to, and the two actors did not fight at that point.

The breaking point reportedly arrived later, during filming. Stallone says the actors were taking a lunch break in a parked car when Gere spilled a stream of chicken grease on his leg. Stallone responded by elbowing Gere across the chest and pulling him out of the car.

Gere reportedly told him he did not want to get physical, and Stallone replied that it was too late. Verona then stepped in to break things up. The incident ended with Gere being fired from the film and replaced.

The bad blood did not fade quickly. Stallone said in a 2006 interview with Ain’t It Cool News that Gere still seriously dislikes him, and he has also claimed Gere blames him for persistent rumors. Reports on the memoir say the two clashed again in 1994 at a charity event for Princess Diana in London, where they reportedly exchanged heated words, and Stallone said it cost him a chance to meet her.

It is worth noting that this is Stallone’s version of events, taken from his own book. Details of a fight from more than 50 years ago are naturally filtered through memory and personal perspective. Even so, the story has plenty of the colorful details that make Hollywood feud tales so irresistible.

Stallone has a reputation for intense sets, and this is not the only time tensions have come to light. Dolph Lundgren, who played Stallone’s nemesis in ‘Rocky IV,’ once said the two nearly came to blows on the set of ‘The Expendables.’ He said he told his wife he was ready to walk off the film, but Stallone approached him with an apology, and the longtime friends worked things out.

That contrast makes the Gere story stand out. Some of Stallone’s clashes ended in reconciliation, while this one apparently hardened into a long-running grudge. It also adds a surprising layer to the early careers of two of Hollywood’s biggest names.

For fans of both actors, the memoir offers a rare look at a time when neither was a star. ‘The Lords of Flatbush’ came a couple of years before ‘Rocky,’ and long before ‘Pretty Woman’ made Gere a household name. Their paths diverged dramatically, but this one chaotic shoot linked them for good.

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