Sylvester Stallone Says ‘Tulsa King’ Gave Him a ‘New Breath of Life’ at 80

At 80, Sylvester Stallone has little left to prove after five decades of Rocky, Rambo, and blockbuster action movies. But the actor says Tulsa King has given him something he didn't necessarily expect at this stage of his career: a fresh start.

“I'm incredibly fortunate to be doing Tulsa King,” Stallone told Lulu Garcia-Navarro during a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times. “And I mean, it's a gift.” He credited producer David Glasser with giving him “this new breath of life and a whole new character.”

That character is Dwight “The General” Manfredi, the New York Mafia capo Stallone has played since Tulsa King debuted in 2022. After serving 25 years in prison, Dwight is sent to Oklahoma and begins building his own criminal operation—giving Stallone another signature role without asking him to simply revisit one of his old ones.

Stallone even joked about the alternative during the Times interview. “Imagine playing like, oh yeah, we're doing Rambo at 80,” he said. “Oh my God, who's he fighting? He's fighting Mr. Arthritis.”

Instead, Tulsa King is still expanding. Season 4 premieres Oct. 16 on Paramount+, with Dwight attempting to legitimize his empire while facing corrupt politicians, dangerous new enemies, and a major personal loss.

Paramount+ Head of Originals Jane Wiseman recently praised what Stallone is doing in the upcoming episodes, calling the season “incredible” and saying, “Sly is in great form in the show.”

And Stallone doesn't sound particularly interested in slowing down.

When Garcia-Navarro noted that Tulsa King was approaching its fourth season and asked what keeps bringing him back to acting when his career is no longer about proving himself, Stallone compared himself to a racehorse.

“You just keep going until it falls down,” he said. “It doesn't know how to walk. It knows how to run.”

For Stallone, performing has become “almost like breathing,” he explained. “You cease to exist without this format. It just—it's what gives you life.”

Dwight may have plenty of runway left, too. A writers' room has already opened for a potential fifth season of Tulsa King, although Paramount+ has not officially announced a Season 5 renewal. Wiseman has publicly left the door open, answering “It could” when asked whether the series can continue beyond Season 4.

The show's universe is also getting bigger. Samuel L. Jackson's Season 3 character Russell Lee Washington Jr. is moving into his own spinoff, Frisco King, after Dwight's success inspires Russell to consider building an operation of his own.

For Stallone, however, Tulsa King appears to be about more than extending another franchise. He described the series while acknowledging that he can “see the light at the end of the tunnel.”