Sylvester Stallone shares an uncanny, symbiotic connection with Rocky, the underdog boxer character he created four decades ago — a kindred spirit who served as his creative muse in spawning one of Hollywood’s most successful film franchises.

In his long career Stallone also played another memorable screen role — John Rambo — but Rocky was of his own making and still holds a unique place in the very fabric of his being. “It’s like my brother,” he says. “It’s the only voice that I can say what I want without being ridiculed, or being silly, or being precious or sentimental, because he is that way.”