Unlike Rocky or Rambo 'Samaritan' superhero is a 'cranky old man', Stallone says

INA – SOURCES
 
Sly Stallone talks about playing a cranky superhero hiding in plain sight in Samaritan.
 
Samaritan director Julius Avery was finally able to lure the legendary actor into the genre by promising no spandex and a dash of gritty realism for his portrayal of Joe Smith, a former superhero who disappeared and now works as an unassuming garbage man.
 
Stallone recently got on a call with reporters ahead of the film's Aug. 26 premiere on Prime Video to talk about how his first lead in a superhero film looks nothing like what Marvel Studios and DC are making.

"There has been a tremendous accomplishment by certain directors, and certain companies like Marvel and DC, that have really pushed the universe to the max," Stallone said of contemporary superhero movies.
 
"Everything that you could possibly imagine has been created. But I always feel there is nothing quite as relatable as almost getting hit by a car, or walking down a dark alley and there's a shadow coming behind you. That's very relatable. In Samaritan, we try to make the events in the danger plausible, in a sense, and identifiable. It could happen to you. It's something that's very tangible. It's not from another universe, it's right here in the streets,” he included.
 
Stallone said he loved that the character blends into the environment he lives within and isn't some muscle-bulging proxy for what he did years ago with his Rocky and John Rambo characters. "There is a point where you can't do a 29-year-old Rambo kind of a thing because you have to honor who you are at your age."
 
"As you get older, you become cynical and go, 'Ah, to hell with it!' And that's where you hit the cranky old man syndrome. But then you look at youth and you go, 'Youth must be served.' There's something so invigorating and infectious about this kid who's full of life. He just wants to explode and he wants you to help him, educate him and take him on this journey. In a sense, he's winding the clock back for me. When you see older people hanging out with younger people, it's vital because they both become so symbiotic. You grab their wisdom and they grab your energy,” he concluded.