Actor Sylvester Stallone has revealed that he only learned Donald Trump had picked him as one of the president’s “special ambassadors” to Hollywood when he saw it being discussed on television.
Stallone, along with veteran actors Jon Voight and Mel Gibson, was handpicked by Trump in January 2025 for the task of “bringing Hollywood” back from foreign investors, and to serve as the president’s “eyes and ears” in the U.S. film industry.
However, in an interview with The Sunday Times, Stallone said he was surprised to hear the presidential announcement.
“Well, it just happened,” Stallone said. “I was watching TV one night and they go, ‘So Stallone and Mel Gibson and Jon Voight will be …’ And I went, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Excuse me? Really?’ Because if they had asked me in the beginning, I would have said, ‘This is not possible.’”
The Rocky star further described how he was hesitant about Trump’s plans to use the three actors to try to bring back the “Golden Age of Hollywood.”
“Because Hollywood, I guess it’s like feudal states. They have their little kingdoms,” Stallone said. “You don’t go in and tell six studios how to do things. And Mel Gibson and Jon Voight, we’re kind of do-our-own-thing people.”
Stallone added that he had to say “thank you and ciao” after informing Trump that his idea was “impossible.”
“Hollywood works and it will evolve. It’s corporate and corporate people won’t want to hear me tell them about finance,” he said.
Stallone wasn’t the only one who was blindsided by Trump’s announcement.
In a statement to Variety at the time, Gibson, who had just lost his home in the Los Angeles wildfires, said he only found out through Trump’s social media.
“I got the tweet at the same time as all of you and was just as surprised. Nevertheless, I heed the call. My duty as a citizen is to give any help and insight I can,” he said. “Any chance the position comes with an ambassador’s residence?”
Stallone, Gibson and Voight were all given the vague Hollywood special envoy positions after showing support for the president.
Earlier this month, Voight told The Hollywood Reporter that he used his role to lobby for a federal film and television tax credit.
“If we get on an even keel with the rest of the world’s tax benefits, if we get that break, there’s going to be an explosion of energy,” Voight said.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
