"He became Rocky": I Play Rocky director explains how Anthony Ippolito isn't just recreating Sylvester Stallone's classic 

I Play Rocky, Peter Farrelly's upcoming biographical drama film, charts Sylvester Stallone's humble beginnings as he sets out not just to write but also to star in Rocky, despite constant rejection. Stallone's refusal to give up on the lead role in the 1976 sports drama film not only gave us a cinema classic, which went on to win three Academy Awards, but also transformed him from a struggling, nearly broke actor to a global superstar.

Nearly five decades after Sylvester Stallone created Oscar history by becoming the third person (after Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles) to receive dual nominations for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, I Play Rocky looks back at the actor's beginnings and his impressive launch into stardom.

For Peter Farrelly's upcoming film, 27-year-old actor Anthony Ippolito (who played Al Pacino in Paramount+'s The Offer) steps into the shoes of a young Sylvester Stallone as he sets out to write and star in Rocky. In an interview with Reuters, Peter Farrelly praised Ippolito's take on Stallone's iconic character:

"This guy embodied him. He became Rocky, and he understood the difference between Stallone and his character."

Farrelly's remarks suggest that Anthony Ippolito doesn't just mimic Sylvester Stallone's performance in Rocky, but brings a new dimension to the John G. Avildsen-directed classic.

This is how I Play Rocky found its young Sylvester Stallone

Peter Farrelly had a mammoth task when he set out to make I Play Rocky: finding a young actor to play Sylvester Stallone. The actor, known for his distinctive deep voice caused by a birth defect, played Italian-American journeyman southpaw boxer Rocky Balboa in Rocky, who sets out to fight against heavyweight champion Apollo Creed to win respect and glory.

During I Play Rocky's surprise screening at the London Film Festival, Farrelly revealed how Anthony Ippolito ended their 'worldwide search' for a young Stallone, even before it started. The director recalled that Ippolito was determined to get the part when he heard about the film. After tracking down the script, the young actor filmed three scenes in his grandmother's basement and sent the self-tapes to the makers. As Farrelly recalled, Anthony Ippolito's performance instantly convinced him to sign the actor to play Sylvester Stallone in the film:

“I could do a TED talk about Anthony Ippolito. This kid is ridiculous...I looked at it [Ippolito's tapes] like, ‘That’s it.’ We never looked past him.”

Farrelly feels that the actor brought his own flavour to Stallone's classic character, rather than just recreating it for the upcoming film.

I Play Rocky has got Sylvester Stallone's seal of approval

While the Rocky star was not involved in the production of the upcoming film, Farrelly was grateful that Sylvester Stallone gave his approval to the script and Anthony Ippolito's casting.

In an interview with Variety, Farrelly revealed that he was relieved when Stallone liked I Play Rocky:

“No matter how well the movie does, how many people like it, if Stallone said, ‘I don’t like it,’ I would be really disappointed. And he loved it.”

In addition to Anthony Ippolito, I Play Rocky stars AnnaSophia Robb as Stallone's wife, Sasha Czack, Matt Dillon as Stallone's father, Frank Stallone Sr., Jay Duplass as Rocky director John G. Avildsen and P.J. Byrne as Rocky producer Irwin Winkler.

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Amazon MGM Studios will release the film with a limited theatrical release in the US on November 6, before its nationwide release in theatres on November 20.

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