LOS ANGELES, Nov 5 —  When Anthony Ippolito learned Hollywood was planning a new Rocky-related film, he rigged up a punching bag in his grandmother’s basement and improvised his audition.

It was a bold move that paid off: the up-and-coming actor essentially secured the coveted role of a young Sylvester Stallone before the official casting process for the biographical drama, headed to theaters this month, even began.

“I just really wanted to try to get my foot in the door for it if possible,” the 27-year-old told AFP. “I was kind of just making stuff and sending it their way, just hoping they would respond.”

“Thankfully, they did.”

Directed by Oscar-winner Peter Farrelly (Green Book), I Play Rocky chronicles Stallone’s difficult early days, when he at times slept on the streets while dreaming of a career on the big screen.

Stallone caught the attention of two producers after writing a screenplay about a boxer who, against all odds, gets his big break when the American champion Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers) challenges him in the ring.

The narrative served as a metaphor for Stallone’s own life.

He was once so poor he had to sell his dog because he couldn’t afford to feed it (he would later get the dog back).

He turned down lucrative studio offers for his script, insisting that he would only sell it if he were cast in the lead role.

The rest, of course, is history: Stallone catapulted to stardom and Rocky won three Academy Awards, including best picture.

Rocky became a cultural phenomenon and its iconic imagery lives on to this day: the Philadelphia museum steps, the gray sweatsuit, and the unmistakable cry of “Adrian!”

And now, a half-century after the original film’s release, the story has opened the gates of Hollywood to Ippolito.

‘Love letter’ to Rocky, and to film 

One of the few suggestions Stallone made for I Play Rocky was to cast a little-known actor, said producer Michele Weiss at a press conference.

So the team launched a worldwide search.

Ippolito surprised them with an audition in which he managed to capture the essence of Stallone, including his mannerisms and physique.

But despite impressing the likes of Stallone himself, for Ippolito — who played a young Al Pacino in The Offer, a mini-series chronicling the making of The Godfather — the pressure was on.

He had to portray Stallone but also the iconic character of Rocky, an immortal of pop culture.

The character, Ippolito said, is “such a hero to people” who have an almost “spiritual connection” to his story.

“It’s just a lot to take on,” he said.

Stallone met with Ippolito a month before filming began, and shared the story of his difficult journey towards Rocky.

“He was dealing with facial paralysis that he suffered from a birth accident that is so singular to him, and followed him throughout his youth, and made trying to become an actor so much harder for him,” Ippolito recounted.

“There are definitely elements of his story that are very unique to him, and that make it even more inspiring.”

The Los Angeles premiere of I Play Rocky gathered key figures from the story’s era.

For Frank Stallone, watching a film that chronicles his older brother’s challenges was “very touching.”

Bill Conti — who composed the Gonna Fly Now theme of Rocky, a track instantly recognizable for its triumphant brass swells — it’s “a story about a story.”

Ippolito said he couldn’t imagine what Stallone must have felt seeing his own life story unfold onscreen.

For the actor the film is “really a love letter,” an homage both to Stallone’s perseverance through to struggle and to filmmaking itself. — AFP