Sylvester Stallone Says He’s an ‘Idiot’ For Doing His Own Stunts
· Thought Catalog
Updated 8 minutes ago, October 15, 2026
Sylvester Stallone says doing his own stunts left him with lasting damage: 9 back operations, 3 neck fusions and injuries to both shoulders and an eye. Asked about his action career in a recent interview, the Rocky star said he has “millions, millions of regrets” and hasn’t been “quite the same” since the surgeries.
One of the injuries happened while making The Expendables, the 2010 action film he directed and starred in alongside Jason Statham and Mickey Rourke. A scene involving a tackle by WWE star Steve Austin left Stallone with a fractured neck and dislocated shoulders. His treatment included a metal plate in his neck and spinal fusions.
Stallone described how the injuries have accumulated over the years, with the operations he listed coming after The Expendables. His advice to actors considering doing their own stunts: “Don’t. Don’t. Let the pro do it.”
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“You cannot beat gravity; when you hit the ground, you lose, and it’s going to come back,” he said, adding, “I mean, just ask every football player in the world. So yeah, and people go, ‘Aren’t you proud of them?’ No. I think I’m an idiot for doing that. I’m proud that I broke myself in pieces. Like, duh, no.”
He expressed similar regrets ahead of his memoir, The Steps, last month, saying the “masochistic” treatment of his body came “at a terrible price.” Looking back, Stallone said, “If I could do it over again, I would say, ‘Let someone else carry the banner and don’t do your own stunts.’”
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