Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone is an American actor, writer, director, and producer who became one of the defining action stars of the 1980s and 1990s, creating two of cinema's most recognisable characters: Rocky Balboa and John Rambo.

Born Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone on July 6, 1946, in New York City, Stallone struggled for years to establish himself as an actor before writing the screenplay that would completely change his life.

That movie was Rocky.

Released in 1976, Rocky starred Stallone as Rocky Balboa, a small-time Philadelphia boxer unexpectedly given the opportunity to fight heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. The film became a huge success and earned Stallone Academy Award nominations for both Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.

Rocky won the Academy Award for Best Picture and developed into one of Hollywood's most enduring film franchises, with Stallone returning as Balboa throughout numerous sequels and later in the Creed series.

But Rocky was only the beginning.

In 1982, Stallone introduced audiences to another character who would become synonymous with his career when he played troubled Vietnam veteran John Rambo in First Blood.

Rambo returned in Rambo: First Blood Part II in 1985, helping transform Stallone into one of the biggest action stars of the decade. He continued playing the character across further sequels, eventually returning for Rambo: Last Blood in 2019.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Stallone became a fixture of blockbuster cinema. His films included Cobra, Over the Top, Tango & Cash, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, The Specialist and Judge Dredd.

Not every movie was about machine guns and exploding helicopters, however. Stallone also ventured into comedy with films including Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, while 1997's Cop Land gave him the opportunity to deliver a quieter dramatic performance alongside an impressive ensemble cast.

After a period away from the top of the box office, Stallone successfully revived both of his signature characters during the 2000s with Rocky Balboa and Rambo.

He then created another action franchise with 2010's The Expendables, assembling a cast packed with action-movie veterans and eventually sharing the screen with stars including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Harrison Ford.

Stallone returned to Rocky once again in Creed in 2015. His performance as an ageing Balboa mentoring Apollo Creed's son, Adonis, earned Stallone another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, almost four decades after the original Rocky.

Later roles have included appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Guardians of the Galaxy films and the television series Tulsa King.

Few actors are more closely associated with the golden age of action cinema than Sylvester Stallone. From running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art as Rocky to disappearing into the jungle as Rambo, Stallone helped create some of the most enduring images of 1970s, 80s and 90s popular cinema.

And for an actor who was once struggling to convince Hollywood to give him a chance, creating one iconic movie character would have been quite an achievement.