Anthony Ippolito, who portrayed Al Pacino in the Paramount limited series The Offer, is now tackling another famous Italian American actor.
Ippolito has nabbed the starring role in I Play Rocky, the story of the making of boxing classic Rocky being made by Amazon MGM.
Peter Farrelly, the comedy helmer who won an Oscar for directing The Green Book, is directing the feature that Amazon MGM intends to release in theaters.
Ippolito will star as a young Sylvester Stallone in the drama, the true Hollywood story about an unknown actor with an unshakable belief that he wasn’t just meant to write Rocky—he was meant to be Rocky Balboa. Told “no” at every turn, Stallone bets everything on himself, holding the line on playing the lead against seemingly impossible odds. The result is the ultimate underdog story behind the ultimate underdog movie.
In a fitting echo of that spirit, Ippolito is said to have pursued the part of Stallone with the same relentless drive. Upon first hearing about the project, he made an unsolicited audition tape on his own and sent it directly to the producers. That bold move ultimately led to him landing the role, mirroring the very tenacity I Play Rocky celebrates.
Toby Emmerich, the former chairman of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, and Christian Baha will produce. Peter Gamble wrote the script.
Rocky, distributed by United Artists and later MGM, is one of the most iconic and financially successful sports film franchises of all time, grossing over $1.7 billion globally, including the modern Creed spin-offs. Stallone created and starred in the movies, with the story of his fighting to act in the 1976 movie, which went on to win the Oscar for best picture, now part of Hollywood history.
Ippolito played Oscar winner actor Pacino in the Paramount+ limited series The Offer, which told the story about the making of another 1970s film classic, The Godfather.
He also co-starred in Netflix’s romantic drama Purple Hearts, played a younger version of Adam Sandler’s character in Pixels and appeared in David Chase’s Not Fade Away.
Ippolito is repped by Gersh, Untitled Entertainment, and Lichter Grossman.
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