Sylvester Stallone, known for playing Rocky Balboa in the Rocky film franchise, surprised his fans with a candid admission about his Rocky legacy in a new interview with Variety magazine. Rocky is arguably one of the most popular movie series to ever grace the screen. While the role brought him international fame, Stallone also said that the movie franchise gave him a gut punch that still hurts to this day.

Variety reported that Stallone started off on a positive note by saying that Rocky still holds a unique place at the very core of his soul before bearing all with his stunning admission.

“It’s like my brother,” he explained. “It’s the only voice that I can say what I want without being ridiculed, or being silly, or being precious or sentimental, because he is that way.”

Stallone Talks About His Resentment

For the first time ever, Stallone opened up about the decades-long resentment he’s carried over not being given any ownership in the incredibly lucrative Rocky series. The original movie was his brainchild and earned him Academy Award nominations for acting and best original screenplay, yet he was deprived of equity stake in the franchise. That loss still stings for him.

“I have zero ownership of ‘Rocky’,” Stallone said. “Every word, every syllable, every grammatical error was all my fault. It was shocking that it never came to be, but I was told, ‘Hey, you got paid, so what are you complaining about?’ I was furious.”

Stallone went on to say that he blames his own naivety about the business side of Hollywood for what happened.

“You don’t want to ruffle the feathers of the golden goose,” he added.

Rocky producer Irwin Winkler and others involved in the franchise were stunned by Stallone’s comments. They said the actor has gotten tens of millions of dollars in profit participation as well as his upfront fees on each installment of the series.

“He made money from every angle, and still does, so I don’t know what he’s complaining about,” said one anonymous source, with another adding that Stallone made $10 million on the recent Rocky movies Creed and in the mid-teens on Creed II.

Stallone Teases: “Rocky May Ride Again”

Despite all the controversy, Stallone still loves the Rocky franchise. When asked if Stallone will be playing Rocky Balboa again onscreen, Stallone had a definitive answer:

“There’s a good chance that Rocky may ride again.”

Not Stallone’s Only ‘Rocky’ Admission

This isn’t the first shocking admission by Stallone. Earlier this year, Stallone revealed he hated his Rocky costar who almost killed him on set. Read the full story here.

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