The breakout actor on the ‘overwhelming’ journey with Peter Farrelly’s film and making the most of his big break: 'Film is forever, so you want to do your best with the opportunity' The sound of rubber sneakers screeching against hard floor inundates the corridors of a sports center tucked in the suburbs of Zurich. It is then cut by the thudding of a heavy metal door. Tucked in the corner of a four-by-four boxing ring is Anthony Ippolito, wearing a thick cream pullover, a neatly pressed shirt with edges as sharp as his jawline and impeccably fitted brown slacks.
It’s a look that stands in contrast to the pictures of sweaty, shirtless boxers that hang on the walls. The dark-haired star just landed in Switzerland, where he is to present the European premiere of Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky.” In a way, the movie about a movie could also be called “I Play Sylvester.” When Ippolito first read a news article about producers working on a film about the making of “Rocky,” he did not wait for a call. He hung a heavy punching bag in his grandma’s basement and, without a script or any guidance, shot a self-tape he felt emulated the physicality of the iconic boxer.
When he saw the tape, Farrelly ended the casting process before it had even begun. It’s easy to understand the “Green Book” director’s reaction: Ippolito is almost a dead ringer for Stallone. He shares the actor’s Italian roots, his jet-black hair and soulful eyes.
Ippolito also carefully worked on the actor’s signature drawl, a consequence of Stallone’s partial facial paralysis, caused by a severed facial nerve through the accidental misuse of forceps during his birth. When the actor enters the screen on the very first frame of “I Play Rocky,” the audience needs no convincing. As we both leave the boxing ring, Ippolito is kind about my wobbling between the thick white ropes.
That was fun.” Did he feel the sense of mythology about the ring? It kind of feels like you’re in the Colosseum.” “I Play Rocky” chronicles how Stallone held his ground against United Artists to star in “Rocky,” a script he penned himself and that was partially inspired by his own underdog story. In the mid-70s, Stallone was a struggling actor, only landing gigs in shady erotic movies and dodging ever-piling bills, made even more pressing by the upcoming arrival of his first child.
When veteran producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler offer him a check for $300,000, around $2 million today when adjusted for inflation, the young dreamer says no. The rest, as they say, is history. The original film spanned another five “Rocky” instalments, and a “Creed” franchise inspired by Rocky Balboa’s famed rival, Apollo Creed.
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