Stallone recalled showering in clothes and surviving on cottage cheese and raw eggs before Rocky fame
Sylvester Stallone told Fox News on Oct. 3, 2026 that he showered in his clothes and survived on spoonfuls of cottage cheese and three to four raw eggs while struggling in New York before "Rocky" made him a star.
The anecdote highlights the extreme poverty he endured, underscoring the determination that later fueled his iconic underdog role.
Stallone arrived in New York City in 1969 with just $60, $43.60 of which was already set aside for rent. He rented a tenement room so cramped he later compared it to the minimum size recommended for a federal jail cell and shared a bathroom with ten other occupants.
"I could never afford to go to a laundromat," he said. "I would lather my shirt, pants, underwear, socks — and myself — with a bar of soap and take a shower fully clothed. It made sense at the time."
Food was equally scarce. He ate spoonfuls of cottage cheese and downed three or four raw eggs at a time, drinking the egg to avoid washing dishes. He kept a windowsill "refrigerator" from October to March, allowing the eggs and cheese to last through winter.
To make ends meet, Stallone took odd jobs. He worked as an usher at a movie theater for $34 a week, cleaned lion cages at Central Park Zoo, and later held a 6 p.m.‑to‑2 a.m. shift at Dover Delicatessen, eventually saving enough for a coat to brave the city’s bitter winters.
Repeated rejections from agents, a brief stint in New York’s notorious jail “The Tombs,” and the squalid living conditions did not extinguish his belief. He recalled that optimism kept him focused on the goal of becoming an actor.
"I wouldn’t recommend this diet to anyone, but if you’re young and poor, it will suffice," he said, adding that the raw‑egg habit even inspired a detail in "Rocky."
Stallone says the sacrifices taught him a lesson that still resonates in "Rocky": complete dedication can turn an underdog into a champion, and there is no halfway point when a dream is worth fighting for.
