Sylvester Stallone Says He Turned Down Donald Trump's Hollywood Ambassador Role: 'It’s Impossible'

Sylvester Stallone revealed he never actually signed up for the “special ambassador” to Hollywood role assigned by Donald Trump.

Nearly two years after taking on the role, Stallone revealed he found out about his appointment at the exact same time as the public.

“Well, it just happened. 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," he told The Sunday Times.

Stallone also admitted he had reservations about taking on the role, saying, “Yes, because Hollywood, I guess it’s like feudal states. They have their little kingdoms. 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.”

The actor even recalled what he told Trump after learning about the appointment.

“I said thank you and ciao, because it’s impossible. Hollywood works, and it will evolve. It’s corporate and corporate people won’t want to hear me tell them about finance,” he explained, thinking "it won't work."

Trump announced Stallone, Gibson and Voight as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood in January 2025.

The president said the three actors would help bring film production back to the U.S. after business had moved overseas.

In a Truth Social post at the time, Trump described the trio as his “eyes and ears” and said he would act on their recommendations.

“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, Calif. They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK — BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!” he wrote.

As OK! previously reported, Stallone had publicly shown support for Trump before his second presidential term.

In November 2024, Stallone appeared at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., where he introduced Trump before the president-elect addressed supporters celebrating his election victory.

During his remarks, Stallone compared Trump's political comeback to a major moment in American history.

"When George Washington defended his country, he had no idea that he was gonna change the world," Stallone said. "Because without him, you could imagine what the world would look like. Guess what? We got the second George Washington."

Stallone also described Trump in highly complimentary terms.

"I love mythology. And this individual does not exist on this planet. Nobody in the world could have pulled off what he pulled off, so I’m in awe," the Creed actor shared.

Earlier in his introduction, the Rambo star drew another comparison to the world of Rocky.

“At that moment, he was a chosen person and that’s how I began the journey — something was gonna happen, this man was gonna go through a metamorphosis and change lives, just like President Trump,” Stallone stated at the time.

Trump then took the stage, and he and Stallone shared a long handshake.