Sylvester Stallone jokes about one of his wildest jobs before fame: “That’s a rough one”

Sylvester Stallone said he took a series of odd jobs to make ends meet before the bruised but unbowed Rocky Balboa. One of them involved cleaning out lion cages at New York City’s Central Park Zoo.

“Yeah, that’s a rough one, because I felt so bad for these magnificent animals. And then I felt bad because I smelled like them, you know, going home. It’s pretty pungent,” Stallone joked with “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent Tracy Smith in an interview airing this weekend.

He added that he would jump into the shower afterward with his clothes still on: “I had no choice. I couldn’t afford a laundromat.”

Stallone moved to New York City in his early 20s to pursue his dreams of becoming a writer and actor. In 1975, he wrote the screenplay for “Rocky,” which went on to win three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and transform his career. Afterward, Stallone co-wrote and starred in another blockbuster hit, “Rambo.”

After finding early success with two major franchises, his career entered a challenging period marked by a string of underperforming films.

“It was more than a drought. It was about eight years of spiderwebs on the phone,” Stallone previously told “CBS Mornings” co-anchor Gayle King. Season 4 of Stallone’s hit Paramount+ show “Tulsa King” will return in October. Stallone has also written a new memoir, “The Steps,” which will be published next Tuesday.

Watch more of Tracy Smith’s conversation with actor Sylvester Stallone on “CBS Sunday Morning” this weekend. Stallone will also join Smith on Monday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. for a candid conversation before a live audience as part of “CBS Sunday Morning at 92NY,” a new series featuring in-depth conversations with some of the biggest names in the arts, politics and beyond. You can watch the conversation live online at www.92ny.org or later on CBSSundayMorning.com, YouTube and Paramount+.