Legendary action film star Sylvester Stallone recently took to Instagram to gush about the 2006 sports drama Rocky Balboa, citing it as the most memorable project he’s ever worked on.
The film, which Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in as the titular boxing icon, is the sixth installment in the Rocky franchise. It follows a retired, widowed Rocky Balboa who now runs an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia.
In an Instagram post by the actor, he reflected on the many challenges he faced when trying to get the film made, notably that it seemed that no one but him wanted anything to do with the film.
“No one wanted to make it. Absolutely no one,” said Stallone in the post. “It was considered a joke. But in my heart I loved the idea and thought if I’m going to go out, I want to go out making this movie.”
“When people ask what is your most memorable film moment. Rocky Balboa, without a doubt.”
This lack of enthusiasm for Rocky Balboa‘s production can be attributed to the failure of its prequel, Rocky V, which was poorly received by critics and performed worse than its predecessor, Rocky IV, at the box office by almost $200 million. It would be the final film in the franchise for the next 16 years before Rocky Balboa was released, which received a much better financial and critical response.
Stallone’s most beloved project would go on to spawn the Creed collection of films, a sequel-spinoff to the Rocky franchise that sees Balboa act as a mentor to young boxer Donnie Johnson, the son of late boxing champion and Balboa’s friend and rival Apollo Creed.
Creed III, the third film in the Creed franchise and directed by Michael B. Jordan, is set to release later this year.
