Sylvester Stallone Hasn't Always Got Along With His Brother Frank
Frank Stallone may not have the name recognition of Sylvester Stallone, but he has enjoyed a successful career in his own right, which includes multiple collaborations with his brother. Early in his career, Frank — who is an actor but best known as a musician — and his band Valentine went on tour in the '70s. Valentine had some traction, but the gigs eventually dried up, which led to Sylvester intervening. "And he told me to come to California, and I did. And I've been here ever since," Frank recalled to Philadelphia in 2019.
That led to Frank contributing songs to multiple films his brother worked on, including the song "Take You Back" from "Rocky" and "Far From Over" on "Staying Alive" — which was directed by Sylvester. Frank enjoyed success with "Far From Over," which earned him a Grammy nomination.
Unfortunately, the song did not translate into monumental success for Frank, whose career began to stagnate. Sylvester offered words of advice to his brother. "I was just so emotionally distraught at one time," Frank told Awards Radar in 2021, recalling a phone conversation with Sylvester. "He goes 'Frank, let me just give you something I want you to understand ... They don't care about you, they don't care about me, they care about them.'" Although the brothers support one another, they also had "many, many, many fights and rivalries," Frank told Australia's Today Extra in 2021 (via the Daily Mail). Frank has discussed the perception that he resents his older brother.
Sylvester Stallone and Frank Stallone's sibling rivalry
When Frank Stallone discussed his relationship with Sylvester Stallone, he did not think their "fights" were a big deal and chalked it up to "things that brothers do," as he said to Today Extra in 2021. According to Frank, any of their blow-ups just came with the territory for their lines of work. "You're both in show business, so you both have a certain ego," the singer said. Frank was also quick to point out that there was no resentment between the siblings. "People perceived I was jealous, but I wasn't."
Even after the brothers found their respective success in the entertainment industry, they occasionally disagreed with one another. "We still argue over petty stuff," Frank told Closer Weekly in 2017. He compared it to a traditional sibling rivalry. "It's bunk beds to mansions with us!"
While Frank was not envious of his brother, he struggled to make a name for himself. That was the subject of the documentary "Stallone: Frank, That Is," which looked at Frank's career after his brother became a global star. "And, yeah, everybody thinks that it helps. But it hinders," Frank told Philadelphia in 2019. "There's only room for one person. The other person is thought of as an interloper," he added. In the documentary, Frank rejected the notion that he lived in Sylvester's "shadow." Despite that public perception, Frank held no ill will towards his brother. In fact, he has been very defensive of Sylvester.
Frank Stallone has his brother's back
At the 2016 Academy Awards, Sylvester Stallone was nominated for best supporting actor when he reprised his role as Rocky Balboa in "Creed," but lost out to Mark Rylance. This did not sit well with Frank Stallone, who went on a Twitter tirade defending his brother. "The Academy should be ashamed of themselves," Frank wrote in since-deleted tweets (via Entertainment Weekly). "It's as clear as the nose on your face that Sly won. Mark who? It's total Hollywood bulls**t." Frank believed that the Academy had overlooked his brother on multiple occasions. "[T]his is the 3rd time Sly's gotten ripped off 'Rocky,' 'Copland,' and 'Creed,'" he added.
That Twitter rant caused backlash, resulting in both Stallone brothers issuing apologies. "I'm very happy and please understand my brother is so [emotional] because he is just very protective and only wants the best for me," Sylvester wrote in an Instagram. Meanwhile, Frank walked back his words a bit and gave slight praise to Rylance who beat out his brother. "He is a fine actor but I thought Sly deserved it," Frank tweeted.
Not long after his Twitter tangent made headlines, TMZ caught up with Frank, who explained why he had such a negative reaction to his brother's loss at the Oscars. "Just my opinion, he's my brother. That's all," Frank said. "I was just an Italian emotional brother just reacting to something," he added.