Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6, 1946) is an actor, director, producer and screenwriter. One of the biggest box office draws in the world from the '70s to the early '90s, Stallone is an international icon of machismo and Hollywood action heroism. He has played two characters who have become a part of the American cultural lexicon: Rocky Balboa, the boxer who overcame all odds to become a champion, and John Rambo, a sensitive soldier who specialized in violent rescues and revenge.

In a Fox News interview that ran on January 24, 2008, Stallone said he supports John McCain for the 2008 Republican US presidential nomination, and he is also friends with the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Tobacco industry product placements
A signed letter from Stallone dated April 28, 1983, shows that he agreed to product placements of Brown & Williamson cigarettes in five of his movies, in exchange for payment of $500,000.