Sylvester Stallone was left heartbroken in 2012 when his son Sage died at the age of 36. Now, in a new Netflix documentary about the iconic actor, Sylvester – known as Sly – has opened up on his relationship with his late son, admitting that he often put work over his family.
When asked in the documentary Sly if the plot for 1990's Rocky V reminded him of his own life and his relationship with youngest son Sage, the actor sighed and admitted: "Unfortunately, yes".
Sage appeared in the film as Robert, the son of Sly's Rocky Balboa, who felt cast aside by his father as Rocky put his attention on teaching Tommy how to fight and win in the ring.
"I try to take something that actually is what I wish I had done in real life, but I wasn’t able to do that in reality, and so quite often I would do it theatrically, magically," Sylvester shared.
"A lot of that is true,” Stallone added. “Unfortunately, you put things before your family. And the repercussions are quite radical and devastating."
© Michael Ochs ArchivesSage died in his apartment in 2012 from atherosclerosis, a condition which is caused by the formation of fats and plaque on the artery walls and is one of the main causes of coronary-artery disease. Despite an initial cause of death being blamed on an overdose of pills, it later emerged Sage only had a small trace of vicodin in his system.
Sylvester welcomed Sage with ex-wife Sasha Czack; they also have son Seargeoh, 44. The action star is also dad to three daughters Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet whom he shares with wife Jennifer Flavin.
© Albert L. OrtegaFollowing Sage's death, Sylvester spoke of the "agonizing loss" that "will be felt for the rest of our lives".
"Sage was our first child and the center of our universe and I am humbly begging for all to have my son's memory in full left in peace," he said.
"When a parent loses a child there is no greater pain. Therefore I am imploring people to respect my talented son's memory and feel compassion for his loving mother Sasha.
© Brian de Rivera SimonThe Expendables actor also went om to speak on the Today Show about processing his grief, and praised his "good friends and family's support".
“But, you know, time hopefully will heal and you try to get through it. But it’s just something that’s a reality of life," he said, adding: "It’s important to get back and try to start reliving your life. Otherwise you can, you can go into a spiral.”
That same year Sylvester also lost his sister Toni Ann Fility after a battle with lung cancer, and his eldest daughter Sophia underwent heart surgery for a valve issue.
"Every day I think of my heart," Sophia told Paris Match magazine at the time. "I eat really healthy, and as I get more tired than normal, I have to be very careful when doing sports. Now I have to have surgery again because the tissue they put in 16 years ago has widened and I have problems with the valves.
