Sylvester Stallone is certainly a legendary actor. He has had an illustrious career for nearly 50 years during which Stallone has been writing, acting, producing, and directing many of his own projects. But after his latest dual role — leading and executive producing the Paramount+ series “Tulsa King” — Stallone might be staying behind the camera on his future creative endeavors.
Sylvester Stallone opens up on the matter
When asked if he’s writing any passion projects to direct and star in, Stallone said:
“I might, but maybe not the acting.” He mentioned “Poe” the Edgar Allen Poe biopic he’s long sought to realize, as well as “Tenderloin,” a TV show he developed with “Yellowstone” director and executive producer Stephen Kay.
“But I doubt the acting aspect of it,” Stallone said. “I think this might be my swan song.”
“Tulsa King” would make a fitting goodbye. Created by Taylor Sheridan (though separate from his “Yellowstone” franchise), the freshman crime drama follows Dwight Manfredi, a mafia leader fresh out of prison, who’s exiled from New York and starts his own outfit in Tulsa. The 76-year-old Stallone is both No. 1 on the call sheet and an executive producer, but his showrunner and fellow castmembers all spoke to many uncredited contributions — and spoke highly.
“Look, with Sly, you’re getting an Academy Award nominated writer, a director, a producer, and an editor who also happens to be a great actor,” showrunner Terence Winter said. “You’d be foolish not to bring him into the process. It was really easy. It was a real collaboration.”
“Tulsa King” was customized for the star and Stallone had been putting efforts on his part during production, as well as specific scenes, scripts, and the tone.
“I tried to make it as close to my personality as possible,” Stallone said of his “Tulsa King” role. “The idea is: They come up with an idea, a concept, but if you’re a writer, you know how to tailor things to your strengths and deflect your weaknesses. […] Terry [Winter] had that confidence in me.”
“It’s great when they’re good at it — when you’re with actors who can [write] well,” Winter said. “None of the changes [Stallone] suggested were born of, ‘This doesn’t make me look cool, I want to look cooler.’ It was all about: ‘This is right for the character.’ […] It was really refreshing to work with somebody who just cares about the material.”
