Sylvester Stallone was offered money to 'stay away' from 'Rocky'

It is impossible to separate Sylvester Stallone from Rocky Balboa, the iconic role that made the actor. 

However, Stallone almost didn’t play the character he so loves.

In a decades-old interview with the BBC, the Rocky star revealed he was offered money to ‘stay away’ from the film.

When asked how much producers were willing to pay during the interview, Stallone responds:

"It went up to about $265,000 ... to stay away."

However, the actor stuck to his guns, he revealed:

"I knew that if I sold it ... even for $500,000, I knew that after the money was gone I would become very bitter for having sold out, because my one love was to at least fail on my own terms."

Upon its release in November 1976, the film went on to win the box office with over $200 million, making it the highest-grossing film of that year.

Rocky was not a roaring commercial success it also thrived at the Oscars, winning for best editing, best director, and best picture. Stallone himself was also rewarded for not giving in to opposition and received nominations for both his original screenplay and performance.