How Sylvester Stallone Really Feels About His Tulsa King Role

Sylvester Stallone has delivered lots of great performances throughout his career, with characters like John Rambo and Rocky Balboa becoming true pop culture icons. However, "Tulsa King" — a comedic crime drama in which he plays a mob boss in Oklahoma — occupies a special place in his heart. Not only is Stallone paid handsomely for "Tulsa King," but he also believes that the series allows him to show off different sides of his personality. 

While speaking to ScreenRant in 2024, "Tulsa King" writer/producer Terence Winter revealed that playing Dwight "The General" Manfredi on the Taylor Sheridan-created show lets Stallone lean into his natural mannerisms — and the actor loves that. As he put it:

"[Stallone] said, 'This fits me like a tailor-made suit. This is me if I were a mob boss. This is exactly how I speak. This is perfect. This is an opportunity for me to show the world who I am.' You know, Rocky is not the brightest guy in the world, he's very charming and sweet. But he's not exactly a scholar. And Rambo basically didn't say anything. Stallone said, 'I finally get a chance to talk and do monologues and show people that I can not only do this, but I think it'll be really surprising for people see me in a different light.'"

Similar sentiments have been echoed by Stallone in-person, with the actor revealing that Dwight isn't like other mobsters in television and film. With that in mind, let's find out what he's said about starring in "Tulsa King."

When it comes to entertainment about gangsters, the criminals tend to be intimidating and ruthless. While "The Sopranos," "Goodfellas," and various other works contain splashings of humor, they aren't exactly comedies. "Tulsa King," meanwhile, is more lighthearted than other mob dramas, and Dwight Manfredi — a boss who's essentially been ostracized from the rest of the Mafia — is an underdog who is easy to root for. This is the type of character Sylvester Stallone can get behind, as he told Collider in 2022:

"I thought if I could throw in my personality — because it's a little off-center at times, irreverent — then you have a gangster who's not incredibly threatening. I mean, he can go gangster on you, but then again, he can be silly and do jokes and kind of embrace other people instead of threatening them."

It's clear that Stallone is having fun on the screen, and with "Tulsa King" season 3 on the way, he isn't ready to say goodbye to Dwight Manfredi quite yet. What's more, a fourth season is also in the works, so viewers can look forward to seeing him gangster it up for the foreseeable future.