Sylvester Stallone Says He Underwent 7 Surgeries from Injuries Sustained Doing Stunts on First “Expendables ”Film
The injuries stemmed from a fight scene with WWE legend Steve Austin
Todd Owyoung/NBC/Getty; Yana Blajeva/Lionsgate
Sylvester Stallone says he underwent seven surgeries from injuries he sustained while doing his own stunts on the first Expendables filmSylvester Stallone was left in very bad shape during the filming of the first Expendables movie after a stunt gone wrong.
In the second season of The Family Stallone, which premiered on Wednesday, the action star and filmmaker, 77, was seen preparing for his seventh back surgery stemming from injuries sustained on the set of the 2010 film after he was body-slammed by his costar, WWE legend Steve Austin, during a fight scene.
“I did stupid stuff. I was directing Expendables and, like an idiot, I’m doing take 10, take whatever, and I remember one slam and I could actually feel one bang,” Stallone said on the Paramount+ reality series.
“Steve knew,” the Rocky alum added, before admitting that he “never recovered” from the incident, which is why he needs surgery again. “I never recovered from [Expendables]. After that film, it was never physically the same,” he said. “So I warn people, ‘Don’t do your own stunts.’ ”
Courtesy of Lionsgate
EXSylvester Stallone as Barney Ross in Expend4blesThe scene in question from the film involved Austin, 59, throwing Stallone against a stone wall. The move led to him dislocating his shoulders and fracturing his neck. As a result, he had a metal plate inserted into his neck and spinal fusions.
On the show, Stallone’s wife, Jennifer Flavin, recalled it being a “scary time” for the family whenever Stallone goes into surgery. The upcoming operation was also holding up the family’s planned move from Los Angeles to Florida.
“He doesn’t like people to know he’s had so many back surgeries,” Flavin, 55, said. “It’s very scary for our family every time Sly has to go through surgery, because you never know . . . no one knows.”
“It’s really hard to see my father go through yet another painful operation,” Scarlet, Stallone and Flavin’s daughter, added. "My whole childhood, he was in pain. He did everything he could to push through the pain and be present, but I couldn’t imagine every waking moment you are just hurting."
Thankfully, Stallone made a quick recovery on the show. "I hope this is the one to help him live a more comfortable life," Flavin shared.
At the beginning of The Family Stallone season 2, Stallone and Flavin discussed their plans to move to Florida further as they informed their daughters — Scarlet, 21, Sistine, 25, and Sophia, 27 — of the big decision.
“After long, hard consideration, your mother and I have decided, time to move on and leave the state of California permanently, and we’re going to go to Florida,” the filmmaker announced.
“I raised all three of our daughters in California. Everything’s a memory to me, memories of them not being there anymore,” Flavin said in a confessional interview. “So I needed a big change, and Sly went along with it.”
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Season 2 of The Family Stallone is now streaming on Paramount+.
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