Sylvester Stallone Was Nervous About Working With Samuel L Jackson In 'Tulsa King'

Sylvester Stallone admits to feeling a sense of pressure after learning that Samuel L Jackson would be joining the cast of Tulsa King.

While talking to People about Season 3 of the hit drama series, Stallone said learning that Jackson was joining the cast felt like a major moment.

"...I went, 'Oh, this is gonna be a fist fight. This is gonna be a battle," the Rocky actor recalls as quoted by People.

"Like two boxers in a ring, and who is gonna throw the first punch? So you're getting nervous because you're dealing with serious competition," Stallone was quoted as saying.

It didn't take long for Stallone, who leads the series as mafia capo Dwight 'The General' Manfredi, to realise that Jackson, who plays ex-con Russell Lee Washington Jr., would be a friend and not a foe.

"Once he walks in, he goes, 'Hey, dude brother,' and I went, 'Oh, here it goes.' But now we're good. Now we're flowing. We could do a show called Tulsa King and Buddy. We just worked that well together," said Stallone.

Despite Tulsa King marking their first time working on-screen together, Stallone says they'd actually been around each other for decades.

"We lived about a hundred yards away from each other for almost 30 years," he said.

"Yet we didn't - you know, we're always working. So we never really saw each other, except at Planet Hollywood-type things or openings," Stallone told People.

Though their careers took different paths, Stallone notes a common turning point.

In a recent interview, Sylvester Stallone revealed having an idea for a Rambo prequel, where he wanted to experiment with artificial intelligence to de-age his character.

"Everyone thought I was crazy. AI is sophisticated enough to go through Saigon to see him at 18 years old and basically use the same image. So it isn't as big a stretch," he was quoted as saying by Variety.

Stallone is set to bring his memoir, The Steps, on May 5, 2026.

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