‘Rambo’ star Sylvester Stallone, who recently released his memoir, ‘The Steps,’ opened up about a lot of details of his life that he previously never opened up about. From his struggle with anxiety and eating disorders to how his career came to be, Stallone touches upon a lot of topics of his life in the book. This also included an altercation he had with ‘Pretty Woman’ star Richard Gere when they were working together on the set of ‘The Lords of Flatbush.’
Sylvester Stallone talks about his altercation with Richard Gere
Stallone looked back on his time while he was filming for ‘The Lords of Flatbush,’ during which he met Robert De Niro for the first time; however, he also had a brief altercation with Richard Gere. ‘The Expendables’ actor wrote, “I remember everything went pretty well initially with me and De Niro. We were trying to outtalk each other. I enjoyed improvisation and the process of ad-libbing.”He then mentioned that the same process with Gere ended up falling apart in moments, adding, “Then the improvs with Richard Gere went bad when Gere grabbed my T-shirt and his fingernails dug into my skin. I told him to back off, but he did it again on the second take. He couldn’t have known, but Gere had begun to stir the emotional cauldron inside me.”In the book, Stallone added that at the time, he talked about the scene with director Stephen Verona, who is also known for his work in ‘Talking Walls’ and ‘The Rehearsal.’ He asked the director whether he could “ad-lib” and react realistically to what Gere was doing to him, as if he were doing it in real life. He recalled the director asking, “‘What would you do?’” to which the actor had replied, “‘Do? I’d knock his teeth out.’” Verona then stopped and advised him against doing something rash like that, adding, “‘Please don’t.’”
Sylvester Stallone almost fought with Richard Gere
While the situation dissipated at the time, another incident on the sets of the film added fuel to the fire. According to what Stallone wrote in the book, he shared that Gere had spilled chicken grease on him after he had warned the ‘American Gigolo’ actor to not make a mess while they were eating in a car.He shared, “A stream of chicken grease spilled off the foil paper onto my leg. I elbowed him across the chest, got out of the car, came around to his side, and pulled him out of the back seat. ‘Hey, man, I don’t want to get physical,’ Gere said in a thin voice. ‘Too late …’ Stephen Verona put himself in front of Gere. It was clear to everyone that this wasn’t working. One of us had to go.”Gere was later fired from the film, while De Niro left the movie to pursue another project at the time. Perry King and Henry Winkler joined the cast to replace the two stars.
Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere’s feud has continued for years
‘The Lords of Flatbush’ was released in 1974; however, Stallone and Gere’s feud seems to have continued well beyond their time on the set. In his 2019 memoir, Elton John recalled witnessing a fight between the two stars during a party over Princess Diana.He wrote in his book, “As the rest of us chatted, I couldn’t help notice a strange atmosphere in the room. Judging by the kind of looks he kept shooting them, Diana and Richard Gere’s newly blossoming friendship was not going down well with Sylvester Stallone at all. I think he may have turned up to the party with the express intention of picking Diana up, only to find his plans for the evening ruined.”Sylvester Stallone’s memoir, ‘The Steps,’ was published worldwide on September 29. This is the actor’s third book altogether after the 1977 release, ‘The Official Rocky Scrapbook,’ and the 2005 fitness book, ‘Sly Moves: My Proven Program to Lose Weight, Build Strength, Gain Will Power, and Live Your Dream.’
