‘Tulsa King’ Star Sylvester Stallone Calls Out Superhero Bodies: “You Really Think These Guys Are Natural?”

Fifty years after ‘Rocky’ turned him into a star, Sylvester Stallone is telling the story behind the story. His new memoir, ‘The Steps’, looks back at the long climb that led to the underdog classic, and it has arrived at a moment when he is talking more openly than ever. The publicity run has produced some of the most candid comments of his career.

The book was published on September 29 by William Morrow, and it is available in hardcover, e-book and audio read by Stallone himself. It follows him from his arrival in New York in 1969 through ‘Rocky’ winning Best Picture at the 1977 Oscars. Publisher materials describe it as a gritty, inspiring look at his unlikely path to stardom.

The memoir tour has also become a place for uncomfortable truths about Hollywood physiques. Variety reported that at a live conversation with Tracy Smith in New York, the 80-year-old actor took aim at the idea that movie bodies are natural. Speaking at the event, Stallone asked the crowd whether they really thought “these guys are natural”, and he compared bulking up for a superhero-style role to putting on part of a costume that you wear for 6 to 8 weeks and then shed.

“You really think these guys are natural? If you’re trying to play a sort of superhero or a person that is above and beyond a normal guy, you can’t do it. It’s almost like putting on part of a costume. For six to eight weeks, you manifest that book. And then you shed it.”

He was quick to use himself as the example. Stallone explained that by the time of ‘Rocky III’, audiences had lost the element of surprise, so he wanted to push the character in a new direction. That meant a vainer, more shielded Rocky, until he ran into Mr. T’s Clubber Lang and reality hit him.

To sell that shift, Stallone said he needed a total body metamorphosis. He described going from about 50% body fat to 2.6%, with a diet of tuna fish, as many as 30 cups of coffee a day and, of course, steroids. That 2.6% figure is Stallone’s own recollection and has not been independently verified.

“By the time they did ‘Rocky III,’ you’ve lost the element of surprise. Everyone knows what this guy is all about,” Stallone said. “I wanted him to develop serious narcissism. I wanted him to get his scars removed and be a totally different guy. That would be a story point. He became protected, he’s shielded and vain. And when he finally met Mr. T, or Clubber Lang, that’s where reality hit him. But to do that, I had to do a total body metamorphosis. So I went from like 50% body fat to 2.6%. I did it literally by eating tuna fish and [drinking] maybe 30 cups of coffee a day. And, of course, there’s steroids.”

The details have also shifted over the years. In a 2023 interview with The Wall Street Journal, he put his target at 2.8% body fat, and described a breakfast of oatmeal cookies and 10 cups of coffee. He said at the time that he was eating just tuna fish, forgetting his phone number, and suffering debilitating physical effects.

The superhero comments follow a separate interview with The New York Times, where Stallone said he became bulimic while making ‘Rocky III’. He described his body as armor and said the pursuit turned into obsessive body worship. He also confirmed using steroids in cycles, and said they took a terrible toll.

The physical cost has been real. Stallone told the Times that he has had 9 back operations, 2 shoulder operations and 3 neck fusions, though he did not say steroids alone caused those surgeries. He said his relationship with his body began to change when he played a weaker, partially deaf and overweight character in ‘Cop Land’.

At the live event, Stallone also described a health scare. He recalled a wake-up call after having a heart valve replaced, which came after his wife, Jennifer Flavin Stallone, insisted he get checked out when he appeared unwell. He believes the examination absolutely saved his life.

Reporting around the comments has stressed a note of caution. The diet, stimulant intake and drug use he described carry serious health risks and were built around a short production window, so they should not be read as training advice.

The Stallone story is not slowing down. He stars as Dwight Manfredi in ‘Tulsa King’, and the film ‘I Play Rocky’ opens in select theaters on November 6, with Anthony Ippolito playing a young Stallone and Peter Farrelly directing. Stallone spoke with Farrelly about the project but was not involved in making it, and he told the AP the movie is fantastic.

The timing gives the superhero remarks extra weight. In an era when movie stars are expected to transform for every role, the man who defined the muscled action hero is offering a blunt reminder of what those bodies can cost. Whether or not the comparison lands, it is a striking admission from an actor who helped set the standard.

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