Sylvester Stallone (born July 6 1946) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. One of the biggest box office draws in the world from the '70s to the early '90s, Stallone is an international icon of machismo and Hollywood action heroism. He created two characters who have become a part of the American cultural lexicon: Rocky Balboa, the boxer who overcame all odds to become a champion, and John Rambo, the soldier who specialized in violent rescues and revenge.

During the 1980s, he enjoyed phenomenal popularity and was one of the biggest movie stars in the world with the Rocky and Rambo franchises. Stallone's culturally influential films changed pop culture history and he has largely enjoyed a career on the Hollywood A list for over 30 years.

He is considered by many (including the mayor of Philadelphia) as the one who made the city of Philadelphia an international tourist attraction with the Rocky Steps. His immense popularity there has led to a statue of his Rocky character being placed permanently near the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a cultural landmark. On August 2007, a statue of Rocky was also erected in the Serbian village of Zitiste. His film Rocky has also been inducted into the National Film Registry as well as having its film props placed in the Smithsonian Museum.

Sylvester Stallone became one of Hollywood's highest paid actors, usually playing monosyllablic, antisociety, underdog heroes. While Stallone has attempted to extend his range into film comedies and drama, his real box office success continues in action films.

Athletically built, dark haired US actor / screenwriter / director of European parentage may never be mentioned by old school film critics in the same breath as say, Richard Burton (I) or Alec Guinness, however movie fans world wide have been flocking to see Stallone's films for over 30 years, making "Sly" one of Hollywoods biggest ever box office draw cards. Born on July 6th, 1946 in New York's gritty "Hells Kitchen", the young Stallone attended the American College of Switzerland and the University of Miami eventually obtaining a BA degree. Initially, he struggled in small parts in films such as the soft core Party at Kitty and Stud's, The (1970), the thriller Klute (1971) and the comedy Bananas (1971). However, he got a crucial career break alongside fellow young actor Henry Winkler sharing lead billing in the effectively written teen gang film _Lord's of Flatbush, The (1974). Further film & TV roles followed, although most of them in uninspiring productions, except for the opportunity to play a megalomaniac, bloodthirsty race driver named "Machine Gun Joe Viterbo" in the Roger Corman produced Death Race 2000 (1975). However, Stallone was also keen to be recognized as a screenwriter, not just an actor, and inspired by the 1975 Muhammad Ali - Chuck Wepner fight in Cleveland, Stallone wrote a film script about a nobody fighter given the "million to one opportunity" to challenge for the heavyweight title. Rocky (1976) became the stuff of cinematic legends, scoring ten Academy Award nominations, winning the Best Picture Award of 1976 and triggering one of the most financially successful movie franchises in history ! Whilst full credit is wholly deserved by Stallone, he was duly supported by tremendous acting from fellow cast members Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith and Burt Young and director John G. Avildsen gave the film an emotive, earthy appeal from start to finish. Stallone had truly arrived on his terms, and offers poured in from various studio's eager to secure Hollywoods hottest new star. Stallone followed Rocky (1976) with F.I.S.T (1978), loosely based on the life of Teamsters boss, "Jimmy Hoffa", and Paradise Alley (1978), before pulling on the boxing gloves again to resurrect "Rocky Balboa" in the sequel Rocky II (1979). The second outing for the "Italian Stallion" wasn't as powerful or successful as the the first "Rocky", however it still produced strong box office. Subsequent films Nighthawks (1981) and Victory (1981) failed to ignite with audiences, so Stallone was once again lured back to familiar territory with Rocky III (1982) and a fearsome opponent in "Clubber Lang" played by muscular ex-bodyguard Mr. T. The third "Rocky" installment far outperformed the first sequel in box office takings, however Stallone was to "retire" his prize fighter for a couple of years as another mega-franchise was about to be commence for the busy actor. The character of Green Beret "John Rambo" was the creation of Canadian born writer David Morrell (I) and his novel was adapted to the screen with Stallone in the lead role in First Blood (1982) also starring Richard Crenna and Brian Dennehy. The movie was a surprise hit that polarized audiences because of its commentary about the Vietnam war, that was still relatively fresh in the American public's psyche. Political viewpoints aside, the film was a world wide smash and a sequel soon followed with Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) which drew even stronger criticism from several quarters due to the films plot line about American MIA's allegedly being held in Vietnam. But they say there is no such thing as bad publicity, and "John Rambo's" second adventure was a major money spinner for Stallone and cemented him as one of the top male stars of the 1980s. Riding a wave of amazing popularity, Stallone called on old sparring partner, "Rocky Balboa" to climb back into the ring to defend US pride against Soviet threat's in the form of a towering Russian boxer named "Ivan Drago" played by mono-syllabic Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV (1985). The fourth outing was somewhat controversial with "Rocky" fans as violence levels seemed excessive over previous "Rocky" films, especially with the savage beating suffered by "Apollo Creed" aka Carl Weathers at the hands of the unstoppable "Siberian Express". Stallone continued forward with a slew of "macho character" themed films that met with a mixed reception from his fans. Cobra (1986) was a clumsy mess, Over the Top (1987) was equally mediocre, Rambo III (1988) saw Rambo take on the Russians in Afghanistan, and cop buddy film Tango & Cash (1989) just didn't quite hit the mark, although it did feature a top notch cast and there was chemistry between Stallone and co-star Kurt Russell (I). Philadelphia's favorite "mythical" boxer moved out of the shadows for his fifth screen outing in Rocky V (1990) tackling "Tommy Machine Gunn" aka Tommy Morrison real life heavy weight fighter and the great nephew of screen legend John Wayne (I),...."Sly" quickly followed with the lukewarm comedy Oscar (1991), the painfully unfunny Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), the futuristic action of Demolition Man (1993) and the comic book inspired Judge Dredd (1995). Interestingly, Stallone then took a departure from the "gung ho" steely characters he had been portraying, to stack on a few extra pounds and tackle a more dramatically challenging role in the intriguing Cop Land (1997) also starring Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta. It isn't a classic of the genre, but Cop Land (1997) certainly surprised many critics with Stallone's understated performance. Stallone then lent his vocal talents to the animated adventure story Antz (1998), reprized the role made famous by Michael Caine (I) in a terrible remake of Get Carter (2000), climbed back into a race car for Driven (2001) and he guest starred as the "Toymaker" in the third chapter of the immensely popular "Spy Kids" film series Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003). Showing that age had not wearied his two most popular franchises, Stallone has most recently brought back never-say-die boxer "Rocky Balboa" to star in, well what else but..., Rocky Balboa (2006) and Vietnam veteran Rambo (2008) will re-appear after a 20 year hiatus to once again right wrongs in the jungles of Thailand. Love him or loathe him, Sylvester Stallone has built an enviable & highly respected career in Hollywood, plus he has considerably influenced modern popular culture through several of his iconic film characters.