Overview
- In a Fox News Digital interview reported Thursday, Stallone said he now counts nine back operations and three neck fusions after decades of stunt work and repeated injuries.
- He traces the most serious damage to a 2010 stunt on The Expendables in which wrestler Steve Austin tackled him, saying the fall fractured his neck, dislocated his shoulders, and required a metal plate and spinal fusions.
- Stallone called his choice to keep doing stunts foolish and said people should "let the pro do it," warning that you cannot beat gravity and that the injuries have left him never quite the same.
- His memoir The Steps and recent interviews expand the account to include cycles of extreme dieting and performance‑enhancer use, placing his decline in the wider context of action filmmaking pressures.
- The disclosure sharpens attention on on‑set safety and long‑term health for performers and could prompt more industry discussion about leaving stunts to trained professionals and better protecting actors' bodies.