Sylvester Stallone’s abusive upbringing toughened him up for Hollywood. In his documentary, the actor explained that he developed a high tolerance for mental and physical pain because of his abusive upbringing. Sylvester’s father, Frank Stallone, was a polo player, and that talent carried over to him. When the “Expendables” star was 13, he competed in the sport on a national level, which should’ve made his dad’s heart swell with joy. Unfortunately, Frank reportedly began to feel insecure about his own achievements as a result.
At one point, he even stormed onto the field in the middle of Sylvester’s run. Frank then roughly dragged him off his horse, sent him tumbling to the ground, and left his son to absorb the painful fall after taking the animal away. After that, Sylvester couldn’t bring himself to play the sport until he was 40. According to El País US, Jackie Stallone described her former husband as “the most sadistic man God has ever allowed on this earth.”
He barraged his son with verbal and physical abuse, belittling him with phrases like: “Why can’t you be smarter, you’ll never be anything, you’re born with paralysis, why don’t you join the Navy, you’ll never make it in school.” Sylvester wrote one of these phrases into “Rocky,” and it became an iconic line: “You were born without much brain, so you better start using your body.”
Post source: The List
