In a new doc on “Rocky IV,” Sylvester Stallone spilled about a tough on-set incident that sent him to the hospital. The star said Dolph Lundgren, who played the hulking Soviet boxer Ivan Drago, hit him hard.
Stallone called the impact like getting tossed into a steering wheel after a crash. At first, he felt okay, but then his chest hurt. He had no idea it’d turn into a health scare.
“When my blood pressure spiked to 260, they thought I was a goner,” Stallone said. He got rushed care and was flown from Canada to a hospital in Santa Monica. For four days, he was in the ICU, with nuns around.
Even after this ordeal, Stallone’s grit made him go back and finish the movie. He wouldn’t cut the scene where Lundgren hit his chest. It was key to the story, showing Rocky’s battle with Drago.
“Rocky IV” is the fourth in the famous “Rocky” series. Stallone’s Rocky Balboa is the champ. After his pal Apollo Creed dies, he heads to the USSR to face Drago.
This peek into Stallone’s story gives us more respect for what it takes to make a classic like “Rocky IV.”