Anthony Ippolito Cast as Stallone After Unsolicited Tape

Anthony Ippolito landed the lead role as Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky after making and sending director Peter Farrelly an unsolicited audition tape. Farrelly said the tape persuaded him to cast Ippolito before the planned search for an actor began. Ippolito said he heard about the film but had not been asked to audition, so he recorded scenes in his grandmother’s basement and sent them to the production. Farrelly recalled that the team received the tape and decided it had found its actor. He said Ippolito understood the distinction between Stallone, the person, and Rocky Balboa, the character. The film tells the story of the making of the 1976 boxing drama Rocky, in which Stallone wrote the screenplay and played the title character. Ippolito previously portrayed a young Al Pacino in the 2022 miniseries The Offer. Farrelly said he had admired that performance before realizing Ippolito was the actor behind it. Preparing to play Stallone required substantial physical work. Ippolito trained for about 18 months, gained 40 pounds and learned to box, including how to hit a speed bag. Farrelly described the preparation as demanding. Ippolito said he also watched available...