Sylvester Stallone has an impressive film career under his belt, but the acting legend behind the iconic boxing character Rocky Balboa has some films he regrets making. Known for his roles as actor, writer, and director in the Rocky franchise and the Rambo films, Sly started off with humble beginnings as a struggling actor before becoming one of the highest-paid actors during the mid-1980s through the late 1990s. His popularity saw a bit of a decline in the early 2000s, but he bounced back with the launch of The Expendables film series in 2010. He reprised his role as Rocky in the Creed films starting in 2015, with the first film earning him an Oscar nomination for the same role he was nominated for forty years prior. Having starred in a number one box office film for five consecutive decades, Stallone is the only actor in the history of American cinema to have done so.
Stallone is set to appear in a number of upcoming films, including the fourth installment of The Expendables. He'll voice King Shark in this summer's The Suicide Squad, which will highlight the further adventures of Harley Quinn, Rick Flag, and the rest of the supervillain team. He also joined the cast for Samaritan, a film about a young boy who discovers a long-lost superhero, and the upcoming dystopian flick Little America, which is reportedly in pre-production.
While Stallone's career has earned him worldwide recognition, not every movie he's done has contributed to his success. On the way to becoming one of the most popular actors toward the end of the 20th century, Stallone appeared in a number of commercially successful action movies that critics decried. He also appeared in a variety of films that received negative acclaim by both critics and box office stats. In a question-and-answer session with fans for AICN, Stallone responded to an inquiry regarding any movies that he wished he had not done, and here are his regrets.
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
This buddy cop flick topped Stallone's personal list of films he wished were not on his resume. Yet Stallone can thank Arnold Schwarzenegger for the movie, since Schwarzenegger confirmed with Slashfilm that he faked interest in the project to lure in Stallone during the height of their rivalry. Released in 1992, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot was directed by Roger Spottiswoode and featured Estelle Getty alongside Stallone as his cop character's interfering mother. The movie received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with the late film critic Roger Ebert describing it in his review as "dimwitted" and "a nightmare." The star himself described it for a fan question as "maybe one of the worst films in the entire solar system, including alien productions we've never seen."
Oscar
In an unusual attempt in a comedic role, Stallone acted in Oscar (1991) as a mob boss who wants to honor his father's deathbed wish and turn away from a life of crime. Oscar was directed by John Landis and received mixed reviews, and it appears as though Stallone didn't enjoy acting in a comedy film. A reviewer for the Chicago Tribune wrote that "for a film meant to define a lighter and fresher image for Stallone, Oscar doesn't quite get the job done."
Get Carter
Get Carter (2000) was director Stephen Kay's remake of the 1971 British crime film of the same title, and Stallone's regrets are likely linked to the movie's negative critical reception and unsuccessful run at the box office. It grossed less than $20 million on a budget of about $64 million. In another mob role, Stallone played the role of Jack Carter, who was portrayed by Michael Caine in the original. It turns out the Stallone was the reason why Caine signed on to the remake as it gave him the chance to work with his friend, but Caine's cameo only took two days to film (via IMDB).
Driven
As actor, writer, and producer, Stallone invested a lot of time into Driven (2001), a movie directed by Renny Harlin about a young racing driver's efforts to win a championship. Stallone even found some similarities between the content of the film and his own career journey. "Racing's very much like the world of acting," Stallone said (via Cinema.com). "And you realize that you can't always be no.1." Unfortunately, a poor box office performance prevented this film from achieving any number one status, and indicates a pattern when it comes to Stallone's regrets.
D-Tox (Eye See You)
Stallone isn't known for partaking in the horror film genre, but the closest he came was with the psychological slasher D-Tox (2002), which had been in limbo before being renamed as Eye See You following a limited release. In this rare Stallone horror movie, the actor plays an FBI agent who, along with a group of officers, ends up stranded in a rehabilitation clinic with a serial killer in their midst. The film was directed by Jim Gillespie and did not receive good reviews, meaning that Stallone's attempts to diversify his career didn't go as planned. Though Stallone listed this film among his unfavorable choices, he did find humor in the reason behind the title change, stating: "It was funny, when we were met at the airport by the teamsters they’d have a sign in front of them saying DETOX, and all these actors like Kris Kristofferson, Tom Berenger and myself looked like we were going into rehab rather than a film shoot" (via AICN).
Rhinestone
Although Rhinestone contributed to two of Dolly Parton's hit songs, the film was largely unsuccessful and did nothing for Parton's costar Stallone and his career. Rhinestone sees Parton play a country singer in NYC stuck in a contract at a sleazy urban cowboy nightclub. In an attempt to leave, she makes a bet with the manager that she can turn anyone into a country music star, and her prospect becomes a cabbie portrayed by Stallone. Although the actor enjoyed working with Parton, he later expressed his regret in joining the film due to creative differences with director Bob Clark. In another question-and-answer session for AICN, Stallone admitted that "the film went in a direction that literally shattered my internal corn meter into smithereens. I would have done many things differently... silly comedy didn't work for me." After more than forty years in the business, Sly knows what works for him indeed.
