I PLAY ROCKY

I Play Rocky Tells the Underdog Story Behind Rocky

Before Rocky Balboa became one of the most famous underdogs in movie history, Sylvester Stallone was living an underdog story of his own.

I Play Rocky stars Anthony Ippolito as a young Sylvester Stallone, following the little-known actor as he fights to get the movie that would change his life onto the big screen.

Stallone had written a screenplay called Rocky, the story of a struggling Philadelphia boxer who unexpectedly gets a shot at the heavyweight championship.

Hollywood saw potential in the script.

But Stallone had one condition:

If they wanted Rocky, he had to play Rocky.

For an unknown actor without the kind of star power studios wanted for the role, that demand created an uphill battle. Stallone repeatedly faced rejection but refused to give up the character he'd created, betting his career and future on the belief that nobody else should play Rocky Balboa.

We know how that gamble turned out.

Released in 1976, Rocky became a cultural phenomenon, transformed Stallone into a movie star and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, launching a franchise that would continue for generations.

Directed by Academy Award winner Peter Farrelly, I Play Rocky tells the story behind that breakthrough and the extraordinary risk Stallone took before anyone knew whether his movie would actually work.

It's the ultimate underdog story behind the ultimate underdog movie.

Rocky needed someone willing to believe in him when nobody else did.

So did Sylvester Stallone.

I Play Rocky begins a limited theatrical release November 6, 2026, before expanding nationwide November 20, nearly 50 years after the original Rocky arrived in theaters.