Sylvester Stallone's Recent Projects Are Motivated By His Film Choices 30 Years Prior

It doesn't matter who you are, where you came from, or how successful you've been in your career — there are plenty of people who still look back at their past with some level of regret. Even mega-star Sylvester Stallone, along with his 40+ year career, looks back at his choices and thinks that he should have done things differently. That's pretty shocking to hear considering the legend has churned out more than 50 films, grossing nearly $4 billion at the box office. With the majority of actors in Hollywood never landing even one starring role in a feature film, it's hard to believe that a man who has been immortalized with his own statue in Philadelphia could possibly have any regrets.

Despite whatever missteps Stallone believes he made in the past, he didn't deny his amazing achievements when talking to The Hollywood Reporter. When the publication mentioned he's one of only a couple actors who've been in a film that topped the weekend box office at least once over five consecutive decades, he was quick to correct that stat, adding, "Six...the shark counts." Fans understand he's referring to his vocal role as King Shark in 2021's "The Suicide Squad." However, even with that eye-popping accomplishment, peppered with smash hits like "Rambo: First Blood," "Demolition Man," and of course, the "Rocky" franchise, Stallone still believes he could have made better choices in the last 30 years. 

This thought is exactly what motivates his career choices today.

Despite an incredibly successful career that continues to expand today, Sylvester Stallone still looks back and regrets choices he made over the past 30 years. When asked about this sentiment, Stallone replied, "I felt as though I wasted a lot of time ... When you're young, you're just haphazardly shooting wildly and hope you hit something." He went on to explain that this doesn't refer so much to the lesser-quality of movies he chose to be part of (i.e. "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot."), but more about how much it took him away from his family. "I find that to be my biggest regret. Everyone goes, 'I wish I'd shown love more' or 'I wish I'd spent more time with the kids.' I'm riding that boat."

Well, one good thing about getting older and looking back at your choices, is that it's much easier to know the best way to move forward. For Stallone, choosing roles that he truly believes in are the only gigs in which he's now interested. This includes his new series, "Tulsa King," which follows Stallone as a mafia kingpin building his own criminal crew after completing a 25-year prison stretch. And despite passing the 3/4 of a century mark in age, Stallone surely doesn't feel that way. "I feel very immature. I've always been averse to the quote 'Act your age,' or 'Age gracefully.' How do you age gracefully? There's nothing graceful about you. The older I get, the more I try to embrace my inner kid."