I Play Rocky: A Biopic About the Man Who Made a Legend

When a Movie About a Movie Becomes a Movie About the People Who Made It

Yo Adrian, Rocky did it … again! Only this time, the famed character is at TIFF in biopic form, thanks to director Peter Farrelly, screenwriter Peter Gamble and a star-making turn from Anthony Ippolito, who portrays actor Sylvester Stallone in the story of his relentless determination to bring 'Rocky' to the big screen. This has the DNA of a TIFF Audience winner through and through.

What makes this story even more compelling is that it's set at the very festival where the original film made its triumphant debut. It's a delicious irony that a movie about an unknown who bet everything on himself arrives at the festival that once turned a modest crowd-pleaser into a best picture winner. Farrelly knows this route well — eight years ago, Green Book won the TIFF People's Choice Award and marched all the way to a best picture statuette.

The Unlikely Journey of a Script That Almost Wasn't

I Play Rocky holds its world premiere Saturday night as part of the festival's Special Presentations program at the Princess of Wales Theatre. The film is one of the very first movies that has played at the festival that has the potential to win TIFF's highest honor — the People's Choice Award.

The film chronicles one of Hollywood's most improbable success stories: a struggling actor with a script nobody wanted and one nonnegotiable demand — that he play the lead himself. As studios dangle money on the condition that an established star throw the punches, Stallone digs in, turning the standoff that follows into its own kind of prizefight.

But the real magic of this biopic is how it captures the heart and soul of the original film — not just the action sequences or the iconic lines, but the grit, the passion, and the sheer stubbornness that made Rocky a cultural phenomenon. The script, written by Peter Gamble, is the beating heart of this story. It's a testament to how powerful a single belief can be — in this case, Stallone's belief that his own story deserved to be told.

The Casting That Defied Expectations

The film's origin, Farrelly told the Princess of Wales crowd, came down to a script and a self-tape. “I read this script and I thought it was the greatest script I'd ever read,” he said of Peter Gamble's screenplay, before recounting how the search for his Stallone ended almost before it began.

"I looked at it and the search was over. That's the guy. We didn't have to go any further."

The casting feels like fate — or at least a masterstroke of luck. Anthony Ippolito, a 27-year-old Long Island native who has been working since childhood, broke out as George Wright in the Netflix drama series Grand Army in 2020. He followed with a turn as a young Al Pacino in the Paramount+ limited series The Offer, about the making of The Godfather. That makes I Play Rocky the second time he has played a young Italian American icon at the dawn of a best picture winner — a coincidence too neat to ignore.

Make no mistake: a star is born. Ippolito delivers the kind of breakout that turns a working actor into a name overnight, anchoring one of the truest underdog stories the business has ever told.

From Basement Tapes to Hollywood Legend

For Ippolito, stepping into the role meant a transformation that stretched across years, not months. “It took a lot of effort, upwards of a year and a half to two years,” the actor told the crowd, thanking Farrelly and the team for the gamble. “I'm just so grateful that they were willing to take a chance on me in this situation.” Then, taking in the room: “This is absolutely surreal.”

The film carries the same magic and fervor as the 1976 original, and it stands as Peter Farrelly's finest outing behind the camera — a triumph that plays as both a People's Choice contender and a genuine Oscar threat. Film Twitter has made its position on Farrelly clear, and the knives will be out again, but that crowd has never been the point.

A Star-Studded Ensemble for a Star-Studded Story

This one is right up the Academy's alley. The bench is deep, too. AnnaSophia Robb is quietly devastating as Sasha Czack, Stallone's first wife and earliest believer, while Matt Dillon plays Frank Stallone Sr. Stephan James steps into the trunks as Carl Weathers, the actor who would become Apollo Creed, and Kiki Seto plays Talia Shire opposite Robert Morgan's Burgess Meredith and Scot Teller's Burt Young.

Jay Duplass rounds out the group as Rocky director John G. Avildsen, with P.J. Byrne and Toby Kebbell as producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff — Byrne proving yet again what a formidable character actor he is, his Winkler nothing short of sublime.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

I Play Rocky isn't just another movie about the entertainment industry. It's a meditation on ambition, creativity, and the courage to take a leap of faith — even when the world says no. In an era where studios are increasingly risk-averse and formulas reign supreme, I Play Rocky reminds us why the stories that break through are so rare and precious.

And let's not forget — this is the kind of story that resonates with audiences across generations. It's not just about a movie within a movie; it's about the journey of one man who believed in himself enough to change everything. That's what makes I Play Rocky more than just another biopic — it's a celebration of the American dream, told with heart and humility.

The Verdict: A Triumph of Storytelling

As the credits roll, we're left with a film that doesn't just tell us about the making of Rocky, but how one person's passion could change the course of cinema history. This is a movie that deserves to be seen — not only because it's a great story, but because it reminds us why we fell in love with stories like this in the first place.

The question now isn't whether I Play Rocky will win an Oscar, but how many more people it will inspire to tell their own stories — no matter how unlikely they might seem. The only thing that's certain? This story is far from over.