Sylvester Stallone (‘Tulsa King’) could reign over the Emmys for change-of-pace performance

Jacob Sarkisian
·5 min read
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At the age of 76, Sylvester Stallone is on the hunt for his first-ever Emmy nomination. He’s a three-time Oscar nominee but the iconic Stallone is only just making his small-screen debut — with Taylor Sheridan‘s “Tulsa King.”  “Yellowstone” creator Sheridan co-created this Paramount+ comedy series with “Boardwalk Empire” boss Terence Winter. “Tulsa King” follows Stallone as mafioso Dwight Manfredi, who is recently released from prison and exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here, he builds his own new empire with new-found colleagues and friends.

Stallone has always been a larger-than-life performer and here he is no different — he consumes the screen, both with his imposing physicality and his punchy performance. It’s always fun to watch an actor having a good time and this is what is happening here. He utilises wiley comedic chops to great effect and demonstrates why he was once known as one of the biggest movie stars of his time — charisma, charisma, charisma. Critics agree, Stallone’s television debut has been a resounding success.

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Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) stated that Stallone “in his debut small-screen role demonstrates that even at 75 he’s got more charisma than most.” He explained that the comedic-tone “suits Stallone, who’s always been an underrated comedic presence,” while he noted: “Stallone is clearly enjoying playing Dwight, who’s been imagined as the coolest, toughest, and smartest guy in any room… He’s basically America’s classiest and most honorable gangster, and Stallone embodies him with a dignified bravado that’s more funny than fearsome.”

Clint Worthington (Roger Ebert) wrote: “Sheridan and showrunner Terence Winter are content to let us luxuriate in the delight of watching Stallone do his thing in a decidedly unfamiliar climate: the West…. Stallone, for all his failed attempts at starring in explicit comedies is, when he wants to be, a really funny guy. Dwight’s a perfect conduit for his particular combo of affable aggression, like Joe Pesci’s character from ‘GoodFellas’ if he were as tall as he truly wanted to be.” He continued: “The 76-year-old shows no signs of slowing down, and on the small screen he seems, if anything, even larger than he did before.”

Robert Lloyd (LA Times) claimed: “Goodness knows, the viewing public has a fondness for mob types behaving badly, and Stallone is convincingly tough, not just for a septuagenarian… Stallone may not be the world’s finest thespian, but he’s got charm and presence and comes with a lot of cultural capital.”

Sadly, however, for Stallone, the actor is not currently in our predicted lineup of nominees for Best Comedy Actor. This category will, rather meanly, only feature five nominees. At the moment, we think those nominees will be Martin Short and Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”), Bill Hader (“Barry”), Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”), and Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”). But, every year, the Emmy nominations throw up a few surprises. Who is to say that Stallone couldn’t be one of them this year?

Firstly, the Emmys have a thing for veterans. Short and Martin were both nominated last year for “Only Murders in the Building,” William H. Macy (“Shameless”) and Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”) were both nominated the year before, and in 2020, Douglas was nominated for the same show again alongside “The Good Place” actor Ted Danson and “Schitt’s Creek” star Eugene Levy, who won.

Veterans are respected by their peers, and Stallone could benefit from that. Plus, voters have a curious admiration for big-name movie stars dropping down to TV to lend a show their star-name and charisma. Martin and Douglas are both examples of that and so are “X-Men” player Nicholaus Hoult (nominated last year for “The Great”) and Marvel performer Don Cheadle (nominated most recently in 2020 for “Black Monday”).

And there have been other iconic film stars who have landed nominations — Robert De Niro was most recently nominated in 2019 for Best Comedy Guest Actor for “Saturday Night Live.” The year later, Brad Pitt was nominated for the same category for the show. And the year after that? Morgan Freeman reaped a bid — again for the same show and category. Stallone fits all of those patterns, while Harrison Ford is hoping for his own Emmy bid this year for his supporting turn in the Apple TV+ comedy “Shrinking.” Emmy voters may not be able to resist nominating Indiana Jones and Rocky Balboa in the same year.

Plus, he has some awards support for his role in “Tulsa King” already. He was nominated earlier this year for a Critics Choice Super Award, showing that there is some backing here for him from awards bodies. In fact, Stallone has a stellar awards history that is easy to forget. He came to prominence for “Rocky,” which earned him Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, BAFTA bids for Best Actor and Best Screenplay, and the same nominations from the Critics Choice Awards. He then received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for “Rocky” spin-off “Creed” in 2016. This is a man who many people admire and respect. They have never had a chance to nominate him for an Emmy before so we don’t know how they react. Now that they do have that chance, they might rush to reward this legend and give him his first-ever Emmy bid just because, hey, it’s Sly Stallone. Why not?

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