Sylvester Stallone: Rocky meant to reflect nature of Jesus

Sylvester Stallone (Rocky) says the infamous movie character Rocky was meant to reflect the nature of Jesus

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Baptist Press)--Believe it or not, Sylvester Stallone says the infamous movie character Rocky was meant to reflect the nature of Jesus, and the sixth film in the series, “Rocky Balboa,” scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 22, carries an intentionally Christian theme.

“It’s like he was being chosen, Jesus was over him, and he was going to be the fella that would live through the example of Christ,” Stallone said of Rocky in a conference call with pastors and religious leaders. “He’s very, very forgiving. There’s no bitterness in him. He always turns the other cheek. And it’s like his whole life was about service.”

Stuart Shepard, managing editor of Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink, took part in the teleconference and reported in a Nov. 15 commentary that Stallone considers himself reborn.

“I was raised in a Catholic home, a Christian home, and I went to Catholic schools and I was taught the faith and went as far as I could with it,” Stallone said. “Until one day, you know, I got out in the so-called real world and I was presented with temptation. I kinda like lost my way and made a lot of bad choices.”

Somewhere along the way, Stallone realized his fame was not the most important part of his life. Now he says God can help a person overcome his past.

“The more I go to church,” he said, according to CitizenLink, “and the more I turn myself over to the process of believing in Jesus and listening to His Word and having Him guide my hand, I feel as though the pressure is off me now.”

Stallone, in the conference call, compared the need for church to the need for a physical trainer.

“You need to have the expertise and the guidance of someone else. You cannot train yourself,” he said. “I feel the same way about Christianity and about what the church is: The church is the gym of the soul.”

With that, the culmination of the Rocky film series is another story about redemption. And Stallone said he couldn’t have written it without the personal journey he has endured.

“I needed to actually go through my trials and tribulations,” he said, “before I could be man enough to know how to write that kind of story that ‘Rocky Balboa’ is.”