Anthony Ippolito is the 27-year-old American actor who went from a self-taped audition in his grandmother’s basement to playing Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky, the 2026 film about the making of Rocky. Named one of GQ’s Breakout Stars of 2026, he had already played a young Al Pacino in the Paramount+ miniseries The Offer four years earlier.
Stallone’s only request of director Peter Farrelly was to cast a relative unknown, and Ippolito — a working actor from Long Island with a handful of credits — heard about the project, tracked down the script and filmed himself performing three scenes before the official casting process had even begun. This biography covers his age, career, the I Play Rocky audition, his personal life and net worth.
| Full Name | Anthony Adam Ippolito |
| Date of Birth | 21 August 1999 |
| Age | 27 years old (as of November 2026) |
| Height | Not officially reported — see FAQ below |
| Birthplace | West Islip, Long Island, New York, USA |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Known For | Playing Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky (2026); young Al Pacino in The Offer (2022); George Wright in Grand Army (2020) |
| Relationship Status | Not publicly confirmed — see Personal Life below |
| Net Worth 2026 | Estimated around $1.4 million (2022–23 media estimate) — see Net Worth section below |
Early Life
Anthony Adam Ippolito was born on 21 August 1999 in West Islip, a hamlet on Long Island in New York, and grew up there. Online sources disagree on the date: Wikipedia’s infobox lists 14 September 2000, while its own article text gives 21 August 1999. The 1999 date is used here because AFP and People describe Ippolito as 27 in November 2026, which fits August 1999 and not September 2000.
Acting came early. According to People, Ippolito has been acting since 2006, when he made his screen debut as a child in the film Bella. Alongside acting he played baseball, which he kept up through college: Baruch College’s athletics website lists him as an outfielder for the New York City school’s baseball team during his freshman year. He told People in November 2026 that baseball taught him to be comfortable with failure, a lesson he credits with helping him through years of auditions.
He attended West Islip High School before studying at Baruch College. Little about his family has been reported publicly; one detail did surface during the I Play Rocky press tour — it was in his grandmother’s basement in Long Island that he filmed the audition tape that changed his career.
Career
After his debut in Bella (2006), Ippolito appeared in Adam Sandler’s Pixels (2015) and took guest television roles while continuing to audition. His first substantial break came in 2020, when he was cast as George Wright in the Netflix teen drama Grand Army, playing one of the show’s central students across its single season.
In Paramount+’s 2022 miniseries The Offer, which dramatised the making of The Godfather, Ippolito played a young Al Pacino across seven episodes, opposite Miles Teller as producer Albert S. Ruddy. The resemblance to the young Pacino was widely noted, and the part established a pattern: casting directors saw in him a convincing stand-in for a young screen icon.
Between The Offer and I Play Rocky he worked steadily without a breakout lead — which is exactly what made him the right fit for the Stallone film. As Farrelly later explained, Stallone had asked that the role go to a relative unknown, “because that’s what I was,” and Ippolito was still largely unfamiliar to audiences. In 2026, GQ named him one of its 13 Breakout Stars of the year, a portfolio the magazine revived after a seven-year break to celebrate the performers it expects to define the next era of Hollywood. His rise from small parts to a career-making lead mirrors the path of other young screen actors such as Walker Scobell, who broke out as Percy Jackson, and Ross Lynch, who moved from teen television into film.
I Play Rocky
Directed by Oscar winner Peter Farrelly (Green Book) from a screenplay by Peter Gamble, I Play Rocky tells the true story of Stallone’s struggle to get the original Rocky made in the mid-1970s — refusing to sell his screenplay unless the studio let him, an unknown actor, play Rocky Balboa. Ippolito plays both the young Stallone and, in the film’s recreations, Rocky himself.
When Ippolito learned Hollywood was planning a film about the making of Rocky, he rigged up a punching bag in his grandmother’s basement and filmed himself performing three scenes from the script, including the emotional scene at the door near the end of the story. Farrelly — who received the tape via casting director Rick Montgomery — has said his reaction was immediate: “that’s it. It’s over.” According to AFP, Ippolito had effectively secured the part before the official casting process had even begun.
Stallone himself was not directly involved in casting, but he gave the project his blessing and met with Ippolito about a month before filming began. The preparation was demanding: Ippolito told the Associated Press he spent around 18 months getting ready and gained about 40 pounds to carry Stallone’s physical presence, studying Stallone’s mannerisms and speech. As Farrelly put it, Ippolito had to portray Stallone “but also the iconic character of Rocky, an immortal of pop culture.”
The film premiered at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival and holds an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 62 reviews, according to ScreenRant. It opened in select theatres on 6 November 2026, with a wider release scheduled for 20 November, close to the 50th anniversary of the original Rocky (November 1976). The cast around Ippolito includes AnnaSophia Robb as Sasha Czack, Matt Dillon as Frank Stallone Sr., Stephan James as Carl Weathers, Toby Kebbell, P.J. Byrne, Jay Duplass and Tracy Letts.
Personal Life
Ippolito has not publicly confirmed a girlfriend or a relationship, and no reliable outlet has reported one. Older profiles from 2022 and 2023 describe him as single and focused on his career, but those reports are now several years old and he has said nothing on the subject during the I Play Rocky press tour.
He keeps a low public profile off screen. Unlike many actors of his generation, he has not built his career around social media, and interviews with him tend to focus on craft — the baseball discipline, the long preparation for Stallone, the years of small parts — rather than his private life.
Anthony Ippolito Net Worth 2026
Anthony Ippolito’s net worth has not been officially disclosed, and no reliable recent estimate exists. The figure most often repeated online — around $1.4 million — comes from entertainment aggregators writing in late 2022 and 2023, before I Play Rocky was filmed, so it reflects his earnings from The Offer, Grand Army and earlier work rather than his current position. It should be treated as a dated estimate, not a current valuation.
His income comes from acting fees, and a leading role in an Amazon MGM Studios film directed by an Oscar winner is likely to have lifted his earning power considerably. With I Play Rocky in theatres and a GQ Breakout Star profile raising his visibility, his next roles will say more about his net worth than any figure published before the film’s release.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Anthony Ippolito?
Anthony Ippolito is 27 years old. He was born on 21 August 1999 in West Islip, Long Island, New York. Wikipedia’s infobox lists 14 September 2000 instead, but the 1999 date fits the age of 27 reported by AFP and People in November 2026.
How tall is Anthony Ippolito?
His height has not been officially reported. Entertainment bio sites give conflicting figures — one lists 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) and another 5 feet 11 inches — so no height is stated as fact here. He gained around 40 pounds to play Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky.
Who is Anthony Ippolito’s girlfriend?
He has not publicly confirmed a girlfriend or a relationship. Profiles from 2022–23 described him as single, but he has said nothing about his dating life during the I Play Rocky press tour, so his relationship status is not publicly known.
What is Anthony Ippolito’s net worth in 2026?
No official figure exists. The most-cited estimate, around $1.4 million, dates from late 2022–23 and predates I Play Rocky, so it is likely out of date. His earnings come from acting, led by The Offer, Grand Army and now I Play Rocky.
What movies and TV shows has Anthony Ippolito been in?
His screen debut was Bella (2006), followed by Pixels (2015). On television he played George Wright in Netflix’s Grand Army (2020) and a young Al Pacino in Paramount+’s The Offer (2022). His breakout film role is Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky (2026).
Why is Anthony Ippolito in the news in November 2026?
He stars as a young Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky, which opened in select theatres on 6 November 2026 ahead of a wide release on 20 November. He was also named one of GQ’s 13 Breakout Stars of 2026, alongside fellow breakout Rosalind Eleazar.
