Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for his raw portrayals of vulnerable, working-class characters, he is considered a leading actor of the 1980s. Stallone has earned numerous accolades over a 58-year career, including a Golden Globe Award and a Critics' Choice Award, and has been nominated for three Academy Awards and two BAFTA Awards. He is also, along with Harrison Ford, one of two actors in history to have starred in a box office number-one film across six consecutive decades. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $7.5 billion worldwide.

Struggling as an actor for a number of years upon moving to New York City in 1969, Stallone found gradual work in films such as The Lords of Flatbush (1974). He achieved his greatest critical and commercial success starting in 1976 by writing the iconic role of boxer Rocky Balboa as a character he believed he was suited to portray, in the first film of the successful Rocky franchise, and then held on to control of the production rights until he was cast in the starring role. In 1977, he became the third actor in history to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor.

He portrayed the PTSD-plagued soldier John Rambo in First Blood (1982), a role he would play across five Rambo films (1982–2019) which he also co-wrote. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, Stallone would go on to become one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors acting in action films such as Cobra (1986), Tango and Cash (1989), Cliffhanger (1993), Demolition Man (1993), and The Specialist (1994). At the height of his career, Stallone was known for his rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger.