Sylvester Stallone, in an attempt to gain low body fat for Rocky III, ended up starving himself severely

Actor Sylvester Stallone’s 1982 movie Rocky III is often labeled as one of the best sports drama films of all time. At the time of its release, the film surpassed its predecessors to become the then-highest-grossing film in the franchise. In the film, Rocky Balboa faces a new contender, Clubber Lang, but in order to prepare for the fight he must go to his old adversary Apollo Creed to help him train.

Sylvester Stallone in Rocky III

The star of the franchise, Sylvester Stallone, became quite popular because of the Rocky movies, but it was not just his performance that earned him praise, it was also his dedication to the role. While filming Rocky III, Stallone followed an insane diet that could’ve possibly taken his life. The strict diet even affected his memory as he had trouble remembering things while filming the movie.

Sylvester Stallone drank 25 cups of coffee while filming Rocky III

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa

Earlier this year, actor Sylvester Stallone appeared for an interview with WSJ and revealed that he followed a strict diet while filming 1982’s Rocky III. The actor revealed that the diet was a nightmare as his goal was to keep his fat percentage low,

“I am [a coffee drinker], but I keep getting reflux, so I have to cut it down. I used to drink about 10 cups a day. Actually, I used to drink about 25 cups a day when I was doing Rocky 3. My entire breakfast would be maybe two [small] oatmeal cookies made with brown rice and 10 cups of coffee because I wanted to keep my body fat down to 2.8%.”

To portray Rocky Balboa, Stallone wanted to achieve the perfect physique of a boxer so he decided to follow this nightmare diet.

Sylvester Stallone’s memory was affected due to this diet

A still from Rocky III (1982)

The actor further revealed in the interview that this diet affected his memory as he had trouble remembering his phone number,

“I was forgetting my phone number. I was eating just tuna fish. My memory was shot, it was completely gone. I was getting all kinds of debilitating physical effects. But it was for the cause.”

Filming fight scenes was not easy for the star as the actor once revealed in an Instagram post that did handstands between takes of his fight with actor Mr. T’s Clubber Lang “to get some blood back into my head so I could carry on with the complicated fight choreography.” In the end, Stallone’s efforts paid off as Rocky III was a massive success, earning the actor praise from his fans and critics.