Sylvester Stallone has spoken about a tense moment he had with his late father, Frank Stallone Sr, during the making of the 1976 film Rocky. While promoting his upcoming memoir, The Steps, Stallone shared the story in an interview with The New York Times. He had invited his father to appear briefly as the bell ringer during the film’s climactic boxing match between his character, Rocky, and Carl Weathers’s Apollo Creed. However, Frank Sr did not follow the planned sequence, letting the fight continue past the choreographed point. This led to a disagreement that Stallone described as "a really bad Italian drama." Stallone described his relationship with his father as "very, very cold and tough," recalling a difficult childhood filled with intense emotional shifts. He said his father would often respond to disagreement with physical force, teaching him to "duck" his large hands. These experiences shaped Stallone’s early life and influenced his perspective on discipline and control. Despite the difficult relationship, Stallone shared a moment of emotional connection with his father on his deathbed in 2011. Frank Sr had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the two had a heartfelt exchange before his passing. Stallone described it as a rare moment of love and understanding between them. In the same interview, Stallone discussed his personal struggles with bulimia following the success of Rocky. He described an intense focus on sculpting his body, comparing it to "a jaguar, a cat," which led to an eating disorder. During the filming of Rocky III, he reached a body fat percentage of 2.6 percent and developed bulimia. He also admitted to using steroids during that time, stating that "nobody does it without additives and drugs." Stallone felt a sense of relief from his body image obsession when he was cast in Cop Land in 1997, where he played "the weakest guy in the room."