Sylvester Stallone Opens Up About His Most Personal Role Yet in Tulsa King

Sylvester Stallone has spent decades punching his way through cinematic history as Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, but with Tulsa King, he’s stepped into uncharted territory: his first starring role in a scripted TV series. Launched on Paramount+ in November 2022, created by Taylor Sheridan, the show casts Stallone as Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a mafia capo exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, after 25 years in prison. Now in its second season as of September 2024, with a third confirmed and a fourth in whispers (Variety), Tulsa King has cemented Stallone’s small-screen swagger. So, what does the action icon love most about it? Turns out, it’s the chance to play a version of himself—unfiltered, funny, and full of soul.

A Mobster with a Mirror

For Stallone, Tulsa King isn’t just another gig—it’s personal. In a 2022 Variety interview, he grinned, “If I were a gangster, I probably wouldn’t be a very successful one, because that’s the way I would be—humorous and irregular, you might say.” Dwight Manfredi isn’t your typical mob boss; he’s a wisecracking, self-deprecating smooth talker, a far cry from the grunting stoics of Stallone’s past. “This is closer to the real person than anything he’s ever done—aside from the Mafia stuff, of course,” said Terence Winter, the Season 1 showrunner, in the same piece. Stallone revels in that overlap, flexing humor, sarcasm, and a warmth he’s rarely tapped onscreen.

He leaned into it hard. Speaking to Collider in November 2022, Stallone explained how he molded Dwight to fit his own vibe: “I wanted to round him out with my personality and my style.” That meant tweaking scripts with ad-libs and asides, softening the gangster’s edge with silliness and charm. “He’s not as threatening,” Stallone said, noting how Dwight embraces his ragtag crew—weed sellers, cowboys, a computer nerd—over alienating them. The result? Dialogue that feels spontaneous, a delivery that’s pure Sly, and a character he could sink into at 76 (now 78), proving he’s still got new tricks up his sleeve.

Building a Legacy, One Season at a Time

Stallone’s not just playing Dwight—he’s architecting him. In that Collider chat, he likened his vision to Michael Corleone’s in The Godfather, crafting a mobster with staying power. “I wanted to build a character that could go into sequels,” he said, assembling a diverse posse (no Italians here, a deliberate twist) to widen the story’s scope. With Native American allies and oddball outlaws, Dwight’s empire feels fresh, a sandbox Stallone can dig into across seasons—Season 2’s September 2024 drop and Season 3’s greenlight (Variety) prove he’s got runway. That long-game potential, paired with a 79% Rotten Tomatoes score for Season 1, is a big part of what keeps him hooked.

Directing Dreams

Here’s a kicker: Stallone didn’t just want to star—he wanted to steer. He told Collider he’d planned to direct the pilot and pitched helming episodes in Season 2, hashing it out with Sheridan and Winter. While he didn’t get behind the camera (yet—Season 3’s still cooking), that ambition reveals how deep he’s in. Tulsa King isn’t a paycheck; it’s a canvas, a chance to shape a world beyond the script pages. That creative juice, at an age when most slow down, adds another layer to his love for the gig.

A New Stallone, Unboxed

Compare Dwight to Rocky’s mumbling grit or Rambo’s silent fury, and the appeal sharpens. “My characters spoke in grunts,” Stallone told The New York Times in November 2022, “but here, I’m a smooth talker written with my real personality in mind.” At 76 during Season 1, he found a role that didn’t demand a younger man’s brawn—just his wit and heart. It’s a pivot that feels like a reward, letting him shed the action-hero armor for something rawer, truer.

Why Tulsa King Rules for Sly

Tulsa King has raked in fans—Season 2’s buzz and a third season locked in show its legs—but for Stallone, the joy’s in the journey. He’s not chasing box office glory here; he’s savoring a role that’s “him” in ways Rocky and Rambo never were. The humor, the soul, the chance to ad-lib and build a lasting character—it’s a creative high he’s waited decades to hit. As Dwight Manfredi schemes in Tulsa, Stallone’s found his sweet spot: a TV turf where he’s the general of his own story, and loving every minute of it.