10 Actors Who Took YEARS To Reprise Famous Roles
6. Sylvester Stallone As Rocky Balboa
Years to Reprise Role: 16
The first five films in the series came out with semi-regularity from 1976-1990 with only 3 to 5 years between films. Sylvester Stallone plays Rocky through the ups and downs of his career as a boxer. The 5th film did poorly, and seemed to be the end of the franchise until 16 years later when a 6th film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone finished the original Rocky series.
Stallone reprises the role of Rocky, and gives the character the send off he deserved. A $155 million box office success and positive reviews encouraged a spin off series in 2015 and 2018 that follows Apollo Creed's son, with Rocky as a mentor.