Sylvester Stallone revealed on “The Family Stallone” Season 2 premiere that he never recovered from an injury he endured during the making of “The Expendables” (via People). The stunt gone wrong occurred during a scene in which Stallone got tackled by co-star and WWE legend Steve Austin. It left Stallone with dislocated shoulders and a fractured neck that have since required seven back surgeries and counting over the years. Stallone needed a metal plate inserted into his neck and spinal fusions.
“I did stupid stuff,” the actor said while discussing the need for his seventh surgery. “I was directing ‘Expendables’ and, like an idiot, I’m doing take 10, take whatever, and I remember one slam and I could actually feel one bang. Steve knew.
“I never recovered from [‘Expendables’],” Stallone added. “After that film, it was never physically the same. So I warn people, ‘Don’t do your own stunts.’ ”
Stallone’s wife, Jennifer Flavin, said it’s a “scary time” whenever the actor has to go in for surgery related to his “Expendables” injury and added: “He doesn’t like people to know he’s had so many back surgeries…I hope this is the one to help him live a more comfortable life.”
“It’s really hard to see my father go through yet another painful operation,” Stallone’s daughter Scarlet said during the episode. “My whole childhood, he was in pain. He did everything he could to push through the pain and be present, but I couldn’t imagine every waking moment you are just hurting.”
“The Expendables” franchise launched in 2010 with a movie directed and co-written by Stallone, who starred opposite a massive ensemble cast that included Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Terry Crews and Mickey Rourke, among many others. The film spawned three more sequels, the most recent of which opened in theaters last year but flopped with just $50 million worldwide.
“The Family Stallone” streams exclusively on Paramount+.
