12 Pieces Of Useless Trivia About Rocky

Stallone quit smoking during production as he was often out of breath during the running sequences.

The scene where Rocky points out the mistake in the poster was real. The wrong design was ordered and there wasn't enough money to change it.

Harvey Keitel was the first choice to play Paulie.

During the meat locker scene, Stallone was actually punching the meat so hard that he flattened his knuckles. To this day, his knuckles are level.

That's Michael Dorn, who'd later play Worf in Star Trek, standing beside Apollo Creed. It was his first acting role.

Taking the most direct route from Rocky's house to the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, Rocky ran a total of 5.29 miles.

Burgess Meredith, who played Mickey, also played Penguin in the '60s Batman TV series.

The dog Butkus was Stallone's real-life dog. He was so poor before Rocky that he had to sell him to another owner for $50.

The budget was so small on Rocky that most of the costumes were clothes owned by the cast. Rocky's leather jacket and fedora came from a thrift shop.

John Boorman was offered the chance to direct Rocky, but declined.

Cher was considered for the role of Adrian, but was offered to Talia Shire. Her son is Rushmore star Jason Schwartzman.

Although it's never mentioned in any of the films, the first original screenplay had Rocky's full name as Robert Balboa.