Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone took Hollywood by storm in 1976, writing and starring in the blockbuster hit Rocky. The film, with Stallone as the low-rent Philadelphia puglist Rocky Balboa, won the Academy Award for best picture and a nomination for Stallone as best actor. For the next decade Stallone was a top box-office draw; by 1990 he had made a total of five Rocky movies and three movies as Rambo, a tortured Vietnam veteran with a thirst for swift justice. Stallone has tried his hand at comedy (1991's Oscar, with Tim Curry, and 1998's Antz, with Woody Allen) and serious drama (1997's Cop Land, with Robert DeNiro and Janeane Garofolo), but he remains best known as an action hero. His other movies include Cliffhanger (1993), Judge Dredd (1995) and Get Carter (2000). A sixth film in the Rocky series, titled Rocky Balboa, was released in December of 2006.

Extra credit: Stallone's nickname is "Sly"... He has also been called "The Italian Stallion," his character's nickname in Rocky.