10 Dying Acting Careers Saved By One Amazing Movie

4. Sylvester Stallone - Rocky Balboa

The Rocky franchise kickstarted Sylvester Stallone's career, and it also saved it decades later.

You don't need me to tell you why Sly Stallone was a big deal. Action movie royalty, the actor dominated Hollywood in the '80s, with multiple huge franchises to his name and plenty of successful one-offs to boot. Alongside Arnie, nobody in the genre was more popular.

Inevitably though, as trends change and audiences age, Stallone's brand of machismo fell out of fashion and the actor struggled to transition into the new century, starring in failures like the Get Carter remake and family-friendly fare like Spy Kids.

Consequently, Stallone turned to his older franchises for a much needed hit. Rather than repeat past mistakes though and barrel ahead as though he was still in his prime, he approached them with a new world-weariness. Accepting his age and that his star had faded meant he could once again authentically pitch himself as the underdog.

What audiences got first was Rocky Balboa, a movie that brought the franchise back to its grounded roots and caught up with the ageing, retired Italian Stallion. It proved to be a hit, and revitalised Stallone's career with a wave of new projects that haven't dried up since.