Sylvester Stallone's life story is a true underdog tale. His rise from an impossible situation to the fame and fortune he now enjoys is almost unfathomable - and is certainly more dramatic than the Rocky Balboa story itself.
(The following extract is taken from http://belowzerotohero.com/sylvester-stallones-zero-to-hero-story)
Stallone’s Zero-to-Hero Story
Not a lot of people know this, but due to complications during labor, the lower left side of Stallone’s face is paralyzed, including parts of his tongue, lip and chin. This incident at birth is the cause of his trademark snarling look and his slurred manner of speaking.
For the first five years of his life, Sylvester Stallone lived in an area of New York known as Hell’s Kitchen. He bounced from one foster home to another while his parents fought and squabbled endlessly in a bad marriage.
Although he was eventually reunited with them, his troubled past and his oddly paralyzed face made him an outcast among his classmates. He often received suspensions for his frequent fights, poor grades, and behavior problems.
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His adult life was just as difficult. Hard times and a lack of income resulted in the actor getting evicted from his apartment. As a result he was forced to live on the streets for close to three weeks.
Eventually he came across a casting call for a soft core pornography film; out of desperation he attended the casting call. For two days of filming the actor received $200.
According to Stallone “it was either do that movie or rob someone, because I was at the end, the very end of my rope”.
After getting back on his feet he was eventually able to attend college. However, deciding this path was not for him, he left before graduation and moved to New York to pursue an acting career.
He tried out for nearly each and every casting call he could, and contacted as many casting agents as he could find. After numerous failed attempts he made the decision to try his hand at writing various screenplays.
After numerous failed attempts he found himself broke once again. In an act of desperation he waited outside of a local liquor store...