He’s got the eye of the Sylvester. “Rocky” star Sylvester Stallone sent his best wishes on Sunday to the team behind his new biopic, *I Play Rocky*, including the actor who will soon embody his younger self onscreen.
“The movie *I Play Rocky* started filming Friday,” Stallone, 79, wrote in an Instagram post alongside a photo of Anthony Ippolito running on a beach. “Good luck to them—keep punching!!!”
The 25-year-old Islip native, who’s a dead ringer for Sly, isn’t picking up the gloves of Rocky Balboa, though. He’s playing an early-career Stallone from the 1960s to ’76, portraying the showbiz unknown as he wrote and eventually starred in *Rocky*, a film that went on to win the Best Picture Oscar over heavyweights like *Network*, *All The President’s Men*, and *Taxi Driver*. It’s the ultimate Hollywood underdog story.
The Amazon MGM film, which currently has no release date, will be directed by Peter Farrelly, whose *Green Book* won Best Picture in 2019. Casting news has slowly trickled out over recent weeks.
Last week, Deadline reported that PJ Byrne will play producer Irwin Winkler, Toby Kebbell is cast as producer Robert Chartoff, Tracy Letts will portray a composite of studio executives, and Jay Duplass will take on the role of *Rocky* director John Avildsen. Previously revealed casting includes AnnaSophia Robb as Stallone’s ex-wife Sasha Czack, Matt Dillon as Frank Stallone Sr., and Stephan James as Apollo Creed actor Carl Weathers, who passed away in 2024.
*I Play Rocky* isn’t Ippolito’s first time stepping into the shoes of a screen legend. In the Paramount+ limited series *The Offer*, he also portrayed Oscar winner Al Pacino.
The enduring *Rocky* franchise continues to be a major Hollywood moneymaker. The three *Creed* films starring Michael B. Jordan have grossed a combined $664 million worldwide, proving the lasting appeal of the story and characters Stallone brought to life decades ago.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/20/entertainment/sylvester-stallone-cheers-on-the-lookalike-actor-playing-him-in-new-biopic-keep-punching/
