Stallone Reveals Bulimia and Steroid Use Making 'Rocky III'

In a New York Times interview, Sylvester Stallone says he became bulimic and used steroids chasing 2.6% body fat for 1982's Rocky III.

Sylvester Stallone, now 80, has told The New York Times that his drive to stay lean during the making of Rocky III crossed into an eating disorder — a confession he said he had never shared publicly before. "It got to the point where I became bulimic. You heard it here first," he told the newspaper, per Just Jared. According to MARCA, he described the era as an "obsessive body cult," saying he no longer wanted to keep food in his body because he was fixated on preserving definition. Both outlets report he reached approximately 2.6% body fat for the 1982 film, having come to see his physique as a kind of "armor."

Alongside the bulimia disclosure, Stallone admitted to steroid use. Just Jared reports that when asked directly whether steroids were part of his regimen, he answered, "Oh, my god, you have to," describing cycles of "six weeks on, six weeks off." MARCA quotes him going further: "No one does it without additives and drugs, period," and "You don't get to look like that naturally." He also explained, per MARCA, that he deliberately did not want Arnold Schwarzenegger's bulk — he wanted to resemble "a jaguar, a cat": fierce, flexible, and athletic.

Both outlets say 1997's Cop Land loosened the obsession's grip. Playing Sheriff Freddy Heflin — overweight, partially deaf, meant to be "the weakest guy in the room," per MARCA — freed Stallone from maintaining his hallmark physique on camera. The years of strain still caught up with him. He told The Times, according to Just Jared, "I've abused my body," listing nine back operations, two shoulder operations and three neck fusions; MARCA adds he joked his body is held together with wire and says he needs numerous medications. "It has come at a terrible price," he summed up, and says he would now let stunt performers handle his dangerous scenes.

The interview lands just before the release of Stallone's memoir, The Steps, which Just Jared reports arrives on September 29 — giving the revelations a clear promotional frame. The outlet also notes his comments follow another portion of the same interview in which he spoke about a traumatic experience at a residential facility as a teenager.