During a conversation CBS on Sunday morning, Sylvester Stallone He recalled the emotions he experienced during the 1977 Oscars ceremony, when RockyThe film he wrote and starred in won the Best Picture award.
The actor said that, instead of feeling happy about the recognition, the absence of some members of his family meant that the moment was accompanied by contradictory feelings.
“It’s not that I felt euphoria. In fact, I felt a little sad, because I wanted it to be something festive, something familiar.… like, ‘Okay! We did it!’ And it was like, ‘No,'” he said.
During the meeting, the 80-year-old artist recalled the moment when it was announced that Rocky had won the top Academy Award, beating films like Taxi driver, Grid and All the president’s men.
The actor explained that he did not expect the film to win. According to him, he had even received comments from other screenwriters who told him that he would not win the award.
Sylvester Stallone recalled that some people told him that Rocky would win the Oscar. (Video capture)
“I was sitting there and I thought, ‘There’s no way we’re going to win.’ There were even people, oddly enough, other writers in the competition, who came up to me and said, ‘You’re not going to win.’ “It’s that simple,” he said.
When Jack Nicholsonwho presented the category, pronounced the name of Rocky, Sylvester Stallone He said he initially thought it was a joke.
“Come on. This is a joke. I’m hearing things. What’s that buzzing? And then The applause began and… it made me want to sink into my seat. And I really did,” he commented.
The actor pointed out that he did not experience the celebration that he had imagined for such an occasion and that the situation was marked by the absence of close people.
“Then I understood, then I realized that the only love I was really going to feel At that time in my life I was the love of people who live in darkness. Do you know what I mean?” he said.
Sylvester Stallone acknowledged that the moment was bitter for not having his family with him to celebrate. (Video capture)
It is worth remembering that RockyReleased in 1976, it received 10 Academy Award nominations and won three statuettes: Best Picture, Best Director for John G. Avildsen and Best Editing.
Stallone was nominated for his performance as Rocky Balboa and for the script he wrote for the production.
However, his parents did not attend the ceremony. The actor has spoken on different occasions about the impact that decision had and, in December 2025, he addressed the topic again during an interview with Gayle King for CBS Mornings.
In that conversation, Sylvester Stallone He described Oscar night as a moment in which professional recognition and sadness over the absence of his parents coincided.
“You want the people you love who rejected you; now You’re here, at the Oscars, and they don’t want to go… You realize, in that moment, that you’re never going to get over it. at all,” he said.
Sylvester Stallone assured that that moment deeply marked him for life. (Video capture)
He also explained that he believes that family experiences during childhood can influence adult life and that he still remembers the emotional consequences of that situation.
The relationship with his parents also occupies a space in the actor’s new memoirs, The steps. In the book, Stallone particularly addresses his bond with his father, Frank Stallone Sr., and remembers different episodes of their relationship.
One of them occurred during the filming of Rocky. According to the story included in the memoir, his father came to the set and asked to participate in the film, although the roles had already been assigned. Stallone then made a last-minute change in the cast to give him a participation.
