Interview: A.J. Benza (Sly)
In 2023, Netflix premiered Arnold and Sly, a pair of documentaries profiling their respective Hollywood action stars who had a beef for years, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Arnold’s doc got the red carpet treatment as a docuseries with three episodes totaling a running time of 191 minutes. Sly’s doc got the feature treatment with a comparatively scant 96 minutes despite him having an arguably more impactful and interesting career.
A.J. Benza, who not only played L.C., a supporting role in 2006’s acclaimed Rocky Balboa, but also knew Stallone personally, feels this isn’t fair. “I always say, there has better been an Oscar for Sly at some point, an honorary Oscar at least… He’s given birth to the Rocky franchise, the Expendables franchise, the Rambo franchise; that’s just unheard of! I was at his house back around 1995 in Miami, and I saw the Rocky statue in the backyard,” A.J. said.
Sly then shows A.J. something extraordinary: the room where he writes. “Sly said, ‘This is where I really bare my soul.’ I ask him, ‘Why you working so hard? You did it! You did it all, Rocky, Rambo.’ Sly replied, ‘No, there’s more, there’s more.’ Now, you look back from 1995 to 2023, my God, was there more. I don’t know why he doesn’t get the accolades he should, he certainly deserves it. Although Arnold deserves a lot of his accolades as well, but I watched both their documentaries. I liked them both a lot, but, of course, I came away liking Sly’s better. The director, Thom Zimny, did a masterful job of showing his house getting empty because he’s moving from California back to Florida, packing away all his artifacts. Finally, at the end, the shot of the statue of Rocky, it reminded me of Jesus Christ on the cross. It looks so religious when it goes in the back of the truck. I wonder if Sly had an idea over the course of the film for that shot?”
A key theme in Sly is his difficult relationship with his father, Frank Stallone Sr. In one of the rawest moments in the documentary, we see vintage footage of father and son reuniting after being estranged for years. A.J. was reminded of seeing his own father before he died. “Back in the day, they had those video cameras where you had to carry the VCR on your hip with the big camera on your shoulder. My father was near the end, and we recorded him telling his famous joke about the two Scotsmen. I wish I remembered where the tape was now.”
A.J. goes on to explain the difficult relationship between Sly’s parents. “He had a bad mother and went to a boarding school. His father would contact people after his son’s huge success with Rocky saying, ‘I wrote the original Rocky, this is the one you want to make.’ Frank, Sly’s brother, tells him ‘Dad, it’s already been done. What are you doing? Sly wrote the boxing movie.’ Their father insisted, ‘No, this one’s better.’ We’re all human beings with jealousy and envy, but when it’s your own son or daughter, you can’t have that.”
During a public polo match between the two, Sly’s father hits Sly on the back with his polo club, knocking his son off his horse. A.J. marvels at the effect this had on Stallone’s life. “It’s amazing how you can have so much in your head about your Dad that after that experience he goes, I’m done with polo, I’ll never go on a horse again unless it’s for a movie. I used to do Geraldo with his mother, Jackie Stallone, and she was a wild one. She did readings of people, became a psychic. The fact that Sly grew up with two parents who pretty much treated him with blatant disregard, and he got to where he got… It almost cost him his new family.”
In a redemptive note, this documentary shows how Stallone has really worked on making his family more of a focus in his life in recent years than his career. Stallone’s relationship with his wife, Jennifer Flavin, and his three daughters, Sophia, Sistine, and Scarlet, is profiled in the Paramount Plus series The Family Stallone. A.J. is appreciative of that change in Sly’s life. “I didn’t know there was a seven or eight year period where he didn’t get a phone call, there was no work. You’d take it out on your family, lock yourself in your room, trying to write something that’s going to get you work. Meanwhile, you’re missing all these important dates with your family, your children. I was happy to see him talk about where he regrets that, and how family’s all that matters now. He was so blinded by success that he missed out on a lot of that stuff, it’s sad.”
A.J. remembers a moment early on in his involvement with Rocky Balboa where Sly was cutting his hair to get just the right look for his character. “I’m looking in the mirror, and Stallone is behind me, cutting my hair, running his fingers through my hair. I’m thinking, this is the most surreal moment in my life. I haven’t told the family I got the job yet, and Sly is cutting my hair. He told me Rocky Balboa is the Rocky film that meant the most to him, and I was proud to be a part of that.”
AJ Benza can be heard weekly on his podcast Fame is a Bitch with AJ Benza.