Sylvester Stallone was born in New York, USA. His father Frank was a hairdresser and mother Jackie was an astrologer and women's wrestling promoter. At the age of 15, his classmates voted him the one 'most likely to end up in the electric chair' because he was expelled from several schools for anti - social and violent behavior. It was the Steve Reeves movie, Ercole e la regina di Lidia (Hercules Unchained), that inspired him to take up bodybuilding. Sylvester cleaned up lion cages in zoos and also appeared in an adult movie to make ends meet. While waiting for his acting break, he spent time writing screenplays.