I just found out that Sylvester Stallone (in real life) is more like Dwight Manfredi from Tulsa King than two of his most iconic roles ever

I just learned that with Tulsa King, Sylvester Stallone feels like he has something in common with Dwight Manfredi on planes above the storytelling level. In a recent interview with Collider, Stallone explained how the character of Dwight is closer to him than those legendary characters who made him a legend- Rocky Balboa or John Rambo. That basically alters the way I think about the actor and this particular character.

When I examined him closer, I observed Stallone to insist repeatedly that he is not broodingly taciturn, as the public likes to envision him, but a naturally garrulous, irony-prone, expressive person, characteristics that Dwight Manfredi exhibits throughout Tulsa King.

Stallone's ramblings on his personality

During an interview with Movieweb, Stallone admitted to being forever boxed by the action hero rough stuff stereotype, monosyllabic. As per ScreenRant, he said,

"It is the most liberating feeling because I never thought it was ever going to happen. I used to have to tell people that Rambo is a performance. I’m not really that monosyllabic, dark and petulant. I really don’t talk like Rocky either. People always assumed that’s who I am. This one, finally, is liberating because it is who I am. Dwight talks how I talk. This is how I roll. "

While Rocky and Rambo required toughness and ruggedness, they did not necessarily give him license to be funny and talky. Though as much as I've learned, Stallone emphasizes that he is a storyteller and not a man of few words, and that immediately resonates with how Dwight carries himself in Tulsa King.

If I placed the following observations next to Dwight's on-screen persona, the parallels became apparent. Dwight uses charm, quick mouth, and wit in dealing with challenges in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stallone defined himself in nearly the same terms as an individual who lives for banter and touch, not underplaying feelings.

Dwight Manfredi as Stallone's closest on-screen match

What stood out to me was how Stallone spoke about Dwight Manfredi’s adaptability. In Tulsa King, Dwight steps into an unfamiliar environment after decades in prison and manages to adjust with humor and resilience. Stallone pointed out that this trait is something he personally connects with.

In interviews with news outlets like Collider, Movieweb, Decider, and ScreenRant, he has spoken about how Dwight doesn’t rely on physical strength alone; instead, he uses words, wit, and presence to make his way. From my reading, Stallone indicated that this role gave him the ability to present people with a side of himself that they don't often get to experience.

Contrastingly, his quintessential earlier characters were dull, stoic, and unwilling to demonstrate. These are also the same qualities that Stallone openly confessed were part of his off-screen personality.

How Tulsa King differs from other Stallone roles

As I dug deeper, I found out that Tulsa King gave Stallone a significantly different kind of role compared to what he had done before. Rambo was marked by stoicism and raw intensity, and Rocky became the symbol of grittiness and toughness. Both these parts required seriousness and athleticism, but neither of them did much to allow room for humor or humorability.

In contrast, Dwight Manfredi is relying heavily on dialogue, wit, and humor. Stallone said it was more to the man he's been in his life. I could tell that this transformation not only makes Tulsa King stand apart from his other work but also allows Stallone to tap into segments of his personality that were rarely a part of his on-screen persona in the earlier work.

Why this job matters for Stallone's career

The more I read, the more I understood why Stallone himself referred to Dwight Manfredi as one of his most authentic performances. According to him, Tulsa King at last provided him space to be even truer to his real self, a babbleur, a comedian, and a chameleon. On the basis of what I read in the interviews, Stallone seemed to have enjoyed playing this character because it tore apart the duality of his real self and his on-screen self.

Among all the over-the-top careers of action stars, the character of Dwight is most similar to the actor himself. Comparing Stallone's seemingly personal alongside Dwight in Tulsa King, I found a persistent overlap that differentiates this series from the rest of his extended career.

Therefore, through Stallone's own introspection, I understood that Tulsa King Dwight Manfredi is the aspect of him that individuals do not typically get to see. In contrast to the brooding silence of his earlier roles, Dwight's sense of humor, intelligence, and scope reveal the actual personality of Stallone.

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I understood that it was a performance milestone for him, where man and character are one more than ever.

Also read: Why is Dwight Manfredi from Tulsa King one of the hardest roles Sylvester Stallone ever played? Here's what we know

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