Sylvester Stallone says Rocky physique led to bulimia and steroid use
Sylvester Stallone says he became bulimic after becoming obsessed with fitness following his transformation to play Rocky. He made the admission in an interview with The New York Times published on 26 September 2026, as reported by Variety.
Bulimia is an eating disorder that involves cycles of binge eating and purging. Stallone told the newspaper he fell to 2.6 per cent body fat while making Rocky III. He could not keep food down.
He told the newspaper that keeping that build involved steroids, drugs that build muscle mass. “Nobody does it without additives and drugs, period,” he said. He described his own use as “in a sensitive way — six weeks on, six weeks off”. It took a terrible toll.
The routine centred on constant training and strict control of food. Stallone told the newspaper he later felt somewhat liberated playing the weakest man in the room in Cop Land.
The interview was headlined “Sylvester Stallone Hid His Struggles for Decades. Now He’s...” and was described by The New York Times as covering his disturbing childhood, his Hollywood missteps and the pain he caused to his loved ones, his body and himself. In excerpts from the newspaper’s “The Interview” podcast, Stallone discussed life with his violent father and his former rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also discussed his insistence on playing the lead role in “Rocky” himself and the mindset behind that fight.
Stallone was nominated for two Academy Awards, the United States film prizes, for “Rocky” in 1977. He said in the podcast that his mother chose not to attend the ceremony. It hurt him.
His memoir The Steps is listed as available on 29 September. Amazon MGM Studios released a first look at I Play Rocky, a biopic about his bid to get Rocky made, in July, according to Reuters. As background, Reuters reported in 2007 that Stallone pleaded guilty and apologised after illegally bringing 48 vials of banned human growth hormone into Australia.
