‘I Play Rocky’: Matt Dillon to Play Sylvester Stallone’s Father in ‘Rocky’ Making-Of Movie!!

I Play Rocky, the biopic that tells the tale of Sylvester Stallone‘s struggle to sell the script to what would become one of the most iconic sports movies of all time, has just added another contender to its fight card. It’s Oscar-nominee Matt Dillon, and he’ll be playing — you guessed it — Frank Stallone Sr., Sylvester’s father. I Play Rocky is in pre-production, and has not yet set a release date.

According to reports, Dillon will be taking on the role of Stallone’s father, an immigrant from southern Italy who found success in America opening a number of barbershops and hair salons. Frank Sr. played a complex role in his son’s life; hardworking and charming, but physically and psychologically abusive. Sylvester was always eager to please his demanding father, and arranged for him to cameo in Rocky as a timekeeper; Sylvester‘s brother and Frank‘s namesake, Frank Jr., also cameos in the film as a singer. Dillon, who was Oscar-nominated for his role in 2004’s Crash, is next set to star in Claire Denis‘ The Fence alongside Tom Blyth.

What Do We Know About ‘I Play Rocky’?

The film will chronicle Stallone, then a struggling actor, writing the script for Rocky in a whirlwind three and a half days, inspired by the championship bout between the legendary Muhammed Ali and scrappy underdog Chuck Wepner. Stallone went to great lengths to sell the script, aided by his friend Henry Winkler, but had difficulty thanks to his main condition: he had to play Rocky. Eventually, he made the sale, and the resulting film was a commercial and critical smash, becoming the top-grossing movie of 1976 and winning three Oscars, including Best Picture. Anthony Ippolito, who played a young Al Pacino in The Offer, and bears a strong resemblance to the young Stallone, will play the lead role. Other cast members include Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk) as the late Carl Weathers, who played Rocky’s in-ring foe Apollo Creed, and AnnaSophia Robb (Grosse Point Garden Society) as Stallone‘s then-wife, Sasha Czack.

I Play Rocky will be directed by Peter Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber, Green Book), from a script by Peter Gamble (Office Uprising); Dillon previously starred in Farrelly‘s There’s Something About Mary. It will be produced by Toby Emmerich and Christian Baha, and released by Amazon MGM Studios.