Video: Sylvester Stallone Talks About Bulimia and the Effects of Steroids
Sylvester Stallone admitted that at the height of his career, he suffered from bulimia and used steroids. According to the 80-year-old actor, he still feels the effects of this today.
The star said that movie roles like Rocky and Rambo forced him to work harder on his body and physique, and at some point, it all turned into an obsession.
“It turned into a real, terrible obsession. It got to the point where I started suffering from bulimia,” the actor said in an interview with The New York Times.
Stallone noted that at first he didn’t understand what it meant, but he did notice that food simply wouldn’t stay down.
“I couldn’t keep anything down, and even if I did, I didn’t want it to stay there, because I was so obsessed with staying in such great physical shape,” Sylvester admitted.
The roles of tough, strong men in the “Rocky” and “Rambo” films forced the actor to work hard on his physique and resort to unhealthy methods.
Eventually, the actor overcame his bulimia but began using steroids.
“And so, finally, you know, I just broke that cycle. But for me, it literally turned into something like an obsessive worship of the body. No one does this without, you know, supplements and drugs. Period. I don’t care who’s out there spouting that nonsense,” he said.
The star says that using muscle-building supplements took a toll on his health.
“But it also took its toll—a very heavy toll. And emotionally, too, because it affects your mood and everything else,” he explained.
Stallone was only able to stop using steroids after he landed a role as a weak guy, rather than the tough “Rambo.”
Sylvester stated that he was only able to quit steroids when he took on a role in the movie *The Cops*, where he played, in his words, “the weakest guy in the room, who was hard of hearing and overweight.” It was after this role that Stallone felt a complete “liberation.”
However, the years of steroid use, intense physical training, and bulimia continue to take their toll on the actor to this day.
“I’m supposedly in shape, but, you know, I have all kinds of problems; I take a bunch of pills just to stay on my feet—you know, that sort of thing. It comes at a terrible price,” he added.
The actor says he’s currently taking pills just to stay on his feet.
The star says that if he had the chance to go back in time, he would never have gone down that path.
“If I could start all over again, I’d say, ‘Let someone else carry the flag.’ Don’t do your own stunts. I don’t know why, but I was constantly pushing myself to the limit. I mean, really, constantly,” he concluded in an interview with The New York Times.
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