Viewers of The Graham Norton Show were left speechless when legendary Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone appeared on the BBC talk show, with many commenting on his youthful appearance at the age of 80.
The hit BBC programme, hosted by Graham Norton, returned for its 34th season last month. The latest episode aired on Friday (October 2), with Stallone, star of Rocky and Rambo, sitting on the red sofa to discuss his new memoir, The Steps.
Viewers React to Stallone's Appearance
Stallone turned 80 in July, a fact that left many fans speechless as he appeared on the show. "Sly is approaching 80 and still looks awesome [heart emoji]," one person wrote on Instagram.
Another replied: "He is 80 and you're right. He looks great." A third said: "Years of pain and hard work sculpted the man he is now."
Other viewers were delighted to see Stallone on the programme, with one person writing on X: "Sylvester Stallone on Graham Norton: a man of few words, but great at expressions & voices. There's a kind of greatness about him, with his creation of Rocky film project at a difficult time in his life, unlucky on the cusp of age 30, this was his one true chance: he got an Oscar."
Stallone on Becoming Rocky Balboa
During his appearance, Stallone spoke about how he became Rocky Balboa. Graham said: "So, everyone wants to buy your screenplay. You would think already, 'Great, I'm successful,' but you have one condition."
Stallone replied: "I wanted to play Rocky, and they went, 'Over our dead body, really.' And I totally understand that. I was as green as they get, I wasn't like a leading man. I had very little acumen about the process."
The star went on: "There's kind of a cut-off point to make it in Hollywood. Like, usually if you're not somewhere by the time you're 28, 29, it's kind of hard to make it in your 30s... So, I [was] like 29 and three quarters. Like, I'm right there. I'm telling you, at the tipping point."
Stallone was joined on the show by Oscar-winning Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is starring in new Amazon revenge thriller Kill Jackie, and Andrew Garfield, who has taken the lead in Paul Greengrass's film about the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, The Uprising. Music came from Blossoms, who performed their track "Husband" from their upcoming album, Songs from the Wedding Cake. The Graham Norton Show is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
