One of the most popular and influential actors of all time, Sylvester Stallone needs no introduction. The legendary actor will always be known for his equally legendary movies such as The Rocky series, First Blood series, The Expendables series, and many more such gems.
About Sylvester Stallone's Real Height
It may not seem so, but Sylvester Stallone's height is a long and complicated affair -- especially his real height (yes, there are two heights involved here). Please bear with us, we will guide you through this valley of doubt and uncertainty.
Our first clue in this investigative piece of journalism comes from the man himself -- Sylvester Stallone once mentioned his height as 5 feet 10 and a half inches back in the 80s. Though many people in the same period had described him as "shockingly short" -- standing no taller than 5'7" or 5'8" tall --- even the number 5'6" was mentioned to describe his height.
In the movies, however, Mr. Stallone always managed to look like a proper 5'10" man for most of his career. He stood shoulder to shoulder with a 6-foot-tall glamazon Brigitte Nielsen after all. Though this could be explained by Sly's wearing custom-made lift shoes.
Many people have worn and still wear what is called "elevator shoes" -- some of the big names in this "elevated company" are John Wayne, Sylvester Stallone, Robert Downey Jr., etc, though people have also included Brad Pitt and Vin Diesel in this list.
But we are not convinced about Brad Pitt -- he always looked like a strong 5'11" guy to us, and Vin Diesel is a special case -- we are convinced that Mr. Diesel doesn't wear "lift shoes" but even his "normal" boots are enough to make up for more than enough of it -- good boots that Mr. Diesel is so fond of wearing.
Another thing is Vin Diesel's good posture. You will never catch him slouching or slinking around the corners. He is a big man, who always stands with his chest pushed in front and head held high. Another big star to have such a good posture is Sylvester Stallone himself. Perhaps it is from Sylvester Stallone that Mr. Diesel has taken inspiration to always appear to look his best.
That Sylvester Stallone has worn "elevator shoes" at times -- there is no doubt about it whatsoever. The Italian Stallion himself has joked about it on many occasions. Like when fighting Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV, Mr. Stallone said:
I'm fighting with elevator shoes on, this is ridiculous.
IMDb lists Sylvester Stallone at 5'9½" instead. Where did this number come from? We don't know about it but it surely seems a lot closer to Mr. Stallone's real height. But it still lefts something more to be desired.
Conclusion
After looking at Sylvester Stallone from every angle possible and comparing him to every celebrity possible, we think that Mr. Stallone looked closer to 5'9" than any other number in his prime.
But Sly certainly isn't in his prime anymore. Now in his 70s, Sylvester Stallone could be expected to have lost an inch of height -- while his arch-rival Arnold Schwarzenegger has lost several. Mr. Stallone is certainly starting to look closer to 5'8" now, but still, he is as fit as ever.
The height of Sylvester Stallone in his prime was
5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
His current height is
5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Here is Sylvester Stallone's height compared with a few other personalities:
Bruce Lee
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| Sylvester Stallone with Bruce Lee who was 5'7½" |
At just 5'7½", Bruce Lee was even shorter than Sylvester Stallone. But both of them prove that height isn't that big of a deal if you want to make it big in life.
Mark Wahlberg
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| Sylvester Stallone with Mark Wahlberg who is 5'8" |
Marky Mark Wahlberg is a short but thick dude. He stands 5'8" -- around an inch shorter than the young Sylvester Stallone.
Mike Tyson
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| Sylvester Stallone with Iron Mike Tyson who is around 5'10" |
Iron Mike Tyson is only 5'10" -- just an inch taller than Sylvester Stallone but a lot thicker. His fighting weight was around 220 lb (100 kg), while Sylvester Stallone at his heaviest and most ripped weighed 194 lb (88 kg) in Rocky 2.
Brigitte Nielsen
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| Sylvester Stallone with Brigitte Nielsen who is 6 feet tall |
Brigitte Nielsen aka Red Sonja is 6 feet -- around 3 inches taller than her famous ex Sylvester Stallone.
John Cena
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| Sylvester Stallone with John Cena who is 6'½" |
Few people realize how big and thick John Cena was in his prime -- he is just 6'½" but weighed 254 lb (115 kg), which means he was around an inch shorter than Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime but weighed 15 lb more.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
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| Sylvester Stallone with Arnold Schwarzenegger who was 6'1½" in his prime but is around 5'11" now |
The god of Bodybuilding and Sylvester Stallone's former arch-rival Arnold Schwarzenegger was 6'1½" in his prime and had a competition weight of 236 lb (107 kg), against Sly's heaviest at 194 lb (88 kg) in Rocky 2. No wonder Sly was jealous of him.
Mark Henry
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| Sylvester Stallone with Mark Henry who is 6'2" |
World's strongest man Mark Henry looks short but only because of how wide he is. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 412 pounds (187 kg) at his heaviest.
Muhammad Ali
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| Sylvester Stallone with the greatest of all time -- Muhammad Ali who was 6'2½" |
The most famous heavyweight boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali was 6 feet 2½ inches (189 cm) tall -- a whole lot taller than Rocky or Rocky Marciano (around 5'9").
Dolph Lundgren
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| Sylvester Stallone with Dolph Lundgren who was 6'4¼" in his youth but is around 6'2¼" now. |
Dolph Lundgren aka Ivan Drago was a sight to behold in his prime. 6 feet 4¼ inches tall, and with very wide shoulders and handsome facial features, he was an ideal actor to play the Russian experiment.
Hulk Hogan
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| Sylvester Stallone with Hulk Hogan who was 6'6" in his youth though he is around 6'3" now |
Think Dolph Lundgren is big? See how big Hulk Hogan was in his prime -- a 6 feet 6 inches tall monstrosity who made Sylvester Stallone look like a kid in Rocky 3.
Sylvester Stallone
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| Sylvester Stallone (5'8") with his younger self who was 5'9" |
People get shorter with age. Even superstars like Sylvester Stallone are not immune to it. Sly is around an inch shorter than his younger self. Height loss happens with age -- mostly because of the compression and dehydration of spinal discs.
Though Sly has only lost an inch, while his former arch-rival Arnold has lost several. We reckon Arnold Schwarzenegger is no more than 5'11" today.