Anthony Ippolito saw the opportunity of a lifetime when he discovered that Oscar-winning director Peter Farrelly was developing a film about Sylvester Stallone’s decision to write and star in the original “Rocky.” There was just one problem: no one had asked him to audition for “I Play Rocky”.
“So, I took it upon myself to do something on my own and send it to them unsolicited,” the 27-year-old actor said in a recent interview with The Associated Press ahead of the film’s release on Friday.
It was a move that could be seen as taking a page from the book of Stallone’s own incredible rise to stardom but, for Ippolito, “it didn’t really feel like that at the time, to be honest. I was just hoping someone would see it.”
Farrelly did – and he was convinced from the start.
“He put his tape, you know, cold, and we’re like, that’s the man,” the director recalled. “We were going to do a world search, we never did it.”
Farrelly was impressed with Ippolito’s ability to differentiate the man from his famous screen persona.
“This guy came full circle – it was exactly what I was looking for because he didn’t play Stallone or Rocky and he knew the difference,” Farrelly said.
Ippolito has already had some experience stepping into the shoes of a Hollywood icon. He previously portrayed a young Al Pacino in “The Offer,” the miniseries chronicling the making of the 1972 classic “The Godfather.” Farrelly had been a big fan of “The Offer,” and it was his favorite show to portray Pacino. What he didn’t realize was that Ippolito was the actor behind it.
“That’s when I realized, ‘Oh, this guy is good.’ I mean, I knew he was good for what we had, but I didn’t understand how this guy can change into anything he wanted,” Farrelly said.
Both roles had the same challenge: portraying legendary actors at key moments in their careers, before fame and success defined their public identity. He had to “take away the celebrity,” as he put it, looking beyond the familiar voices and techniques to find the people underneath. To play Stallone, Ippolito explored the hardships that shaped – and inspired – the older actor, including a difficult childhood, limited parental support and a deep sense of loneliness. Ippolito described the process as part voyeuristic with some speculation.
“You’re trying to think of moments that aren’t in cinema at this level and kind of different,” he said.
Just as strong as Ippolito was Stallone’s determination. Here is a struggling actor who reportedly turned down offers in the $300,000 range for his play “Rocky” rather than surrender the lead role. Fifty years later, Ippolito sees that gamble as the heart of Stallone’s story: a man willing to risk everything on a dream that Hollywood was ready to buy, but won’t let live.
“It’s so amazing what he could do…
For AnnaSophia Robb, who plays Stallone’s first wife Sasha, Ippolito’s transformation seemed almost effortless.
“He was so cool about the whole thing. I met him, and it’s not a way or a thing, but he was dedicated, you know, like a year and a half just to get into this role,” Robb said. “So when we went on, it just felt natural. It felt right.”
As buzz about the film grows, Ippolito gets his first taste of the scene that changed Stallone’s life. “It’s been very gratifying and amazing to see the film with some people,” he said.
One of those people was Stallone himself, who was not involved in the film but in conversation with Farrelly. But he has seen it, as he told the AP in an interview in September.
“It’s wonderful. And the boy did a great job,” he said. “This is so weird. They usually do this when you’re dead and gone.”
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AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to the report.