Sylvester Stallone has opened up about how he came to have his famous ‘snarl’, explaining that initially, he didn’t think he would succeed in the film industry due to the speech impediment it caused.
Stallone, now 79, has been a prominent figure in Hollywood for nearly sixty years. Earlier this year, he was appointed a Special Ambassador to Hollywood alongside Jon Voight and Mel Gibson.
Since making a name for himself with the film The Lords of Flatbush in 1974, Stallone has become one of the industry’s top-earning actors. He is known for creating the Rocky, Rambo, and Expendables series and has also ventured into reality television.
In 2023, a documentary titled Sly was released, chronicling Stallone’s life and successful career.
The documentary features interviews with well-known personalities like Quentin Tarantino, Talia Shire, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It also includes Stallone’s reflections on how his signature ‘snarl’ came to be.
Stallone explains that his mother, Jacqueline Stallone, went into labor while on a bus. “She [went] into labor,” he said. “Somebody was smart enough to get her off the bus, they carried her into a charity ward.
“And that’s where I was brought into the world via this accident, which kind of paralyzed all the nerves on the side of my mouth. So I was born with this snarl.”
The actor further mentioned that the paralysis was caused by a delivery injury.
This condition led to a speech impediment, making him a target for bullies who cruelly nicknamed him ‘Slant Mouth’ and ‘Sylvia,’ according to the New York Post.
After moving in with his father, Frank Stallone Sr., at 11, he faced physical and emotional abuse.
“It’s hard to navigate because you’re going to catch it, especially when you’re a bit rebellious like me. You’re going to get a beating. After a while, you learn to just expect it,” Stallone shared with CBS Mornings.
The actor found refuge in movies, stating: “I worshiped escapism.”
Despite achieving significant accolades, including an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for his role as Rocky Balboa, Stallone admitted to doubts about his film career prospects due to his speech issues.
“I didn’t think I was going to [have a career in film],” he confessed during the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, according to Reuters.
“When I would try to get jobs in commercials, the director would go, ‘What are you saying, what language is that?’
“I knew it was bad when Arnold Schwarzenegger said, ‘You have an accent,'” Stallone recalled.
“I go, ‘I have an accent? Excuse me, what?’ It’s true. Arnold and I should open up a school for speech lessons. It would be perfect.”
Stallone has several upcoming projects, including roles in Expend4bles, Armor, and Alarum. He will also appear in Little America, a sequel to Samaritan, and The Epiphany by William Eubank.
Moreover, he is set to take on the character Nathaniel in James Byron Huggins’ Hunter, and will feature in the Tulsa King spin-off, NOLA King.