That's what Rocky is all about: pride, reputation, and not being another bum in the neighborhood.

I love being verbal in films.

Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.

Everyone has this conjecture that action films are somewhat less prestigious than dramatic films. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've done them both and this is hard and dangerous.

Boxing is a great exercise ... as long as you can yell "cut" whenever you want to.

A lot of guys have muscles. A lot of strong men in this world. I think it's important to show that even under all this strength there's a fragile side, a side that can be affected.

We follow a certain pattern, a maze, if you will, every day, tracing our steps into certain districts and neighborhoods and back home. So it's easy for people to relate to clichés. That's why comedy routines are based on mutual experiences of clichés.