The Rocky Balboa depicter almost died after he was seriously injured by his onscreen nemesis following a mishap during the filming of a fight scene for the fourth 'Rocky' movie.
- Nov 11, 2021
AceShowbiz - Sylvester Stallone nearly died during the making of "Rocky IV".
The 75-year-old actor recalled doctors feared he would be "talking to angels" after he was badly injured by Dolph Lundgren, who played Rocky's nemesis Ivan Drago in the 1985 film, when a fight scene went wrong.
Sly, who portrayed Rocky Balboa in the film series, had nuns praying for him in intensive care after Dolph "pulverised" his heart with a punch.
Speaking ahead of the release of a new recut version of the film, Stallone said, "In the first round, where he knocked me down, that is for real. He pulverised me and I did not feel it at that moment but later that night my heart started to swell. He had bruised the perio cardio sac, which is when the heart hits the chest - like in a car accident when your chest hits the steering wheel."
"My blood pressure went up to 260. They thought I was going to be talking to angels."
Sly previously explained the reason why he chose Dolph Lundgren for the fourth "Rocky" movie. "I really wanted a big, horrible, vicious guy," he opened up. "Like a primitive. And I couldn't find him. I'm finding giant wrestlers and football players, and that. And then all of a sudden the door opened, the smoke came in, there's light... shoulders this wide, everything was perfect."
But he was really not fond of Lundgren, "Even his calves were coming through his clothing. Just muscular. Blue eyes are staring into my soul. He was the real Terminator, and I was like, 'I hate this guy. He's too perfect. And if I loathe him, I'm sure the world will.' "
Forty extra minutes of never-before-seen footage of the fourth movie is offered in a director's cut "Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago"
