SISTINE STALLONE

Sistine And The City

With Acting And Modeling Under Her Belt, A Popular Podcast, And The Family Stallone About To Hit Hulu, Sistine Stallone Gears Up For Great Things Finding Fans Far And Wide

PHOTOS BY DEAN ISIDRO
WORDS BY TAMARA RAPPA

Listen to the extended podcast interview --- find Story + Rain Talks and Sistine Stallone's episode when it drops on 10.9.24 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

 
Tamara Rappa: The world's gotten a chance to get a peek into life with your family with what's become your hit series, The Family Stallone. Your parents Jennifer Flavin and Sylvester Stallone are famously creative people. Your mother, a model, and an entrepreneur; your father, an actor, a producer, a writer, an artist; your uncle whom you're close to, is a singer. When you look back and think back to teen years and growing up, what are the moments that stand out for you in terms of your parents' creative lives and pursuits?

Sistine Stallone: I've always lived in a creative household. There was always some form of artistic expression, whether it was that we were standing on a kitchen table and singing or reciting Edgar Allan Poe, or my dad pulling us into the garage to paint on these massive canvases. There was always that kind of entertainment, and a creative feeling in our everyday routine. My older sister and I truly learned how to read by lying on my dad's office floor and re-reading old scripts with him. After school we'd get picked up and do our homework on the floor of an editing room. We were always surrounded by these really creative family members. I have to give such credit to my mom because as children, we weren't thinking about being entrepreneurial---which is what she is. She was really the voice that always said you can actually do anything you'd like to do. If you have an idea, go for it. Do it. She gave us emotional mentorship. And my dad would be kind of like a kid, along with us.

TR: Has all that you were surrounded by influenced the way that you see the world? Has it made you a very visual person or expressive person? Do you find yourself attracted to the look and the feel of things?

SS: One hundred percent. I'm actually the worst person to watch a movie with because I'll comment on the lighting. I'll comment on the set decor. We have been almost subconsciously trained to understand and see the things that most people wouldn't pay much attention to. We grew up in that sort of home. I have a really big appreciation for my family because they really did show us the importance of what's out there---art, culture. Being around such creative minds does train you to appreciate certain things.

TR: What have you learned about not only being a creative person, but putting creative dreams to work? You grew up with these two shining examples of artists who melded their pursuit of art with hard work. Your ideas were fostered, but you were also taught to jump on your hopes and dreams, and make something from them.

SS: Yes, and it's been big shoes to fill. I think my older sister and I feel the pressure of having two extremely accomplished parents who are killing it at their passions. What can we, as children, bring to the table?  Honestly, we say that our family is our harshest critic. Even if the public doesn't understand it, we want to create things that our family would understand. I've quite literally tried every profession. I thought, I'll try modeling. I'll try acting. I've wanted to see what my niche is. That's the beautiful thing about being a young adult, transitioning into your later 20's. You can try everything, you can fail, and that's fine. My dad always taught us that there really aren't any bad ideas. You might just have ideas that a lot of people won't understand. He always told us stories of his childhood, stories of him flunking out of fourteen boarding schools, stories about how he wasn't studious at all---but he still found his niche. He'd say, 'I wasn't a skilled writer, I wasn't a trained writer, but I knew what the idea was.'  He and my mom both have stories of a lot of people saying no to them a million times, and that it just takes one person to say yes. It's really exciting because so far I've only heard a whole bunch of no's, and the beautiful thing about that is that it's made me a more resilient person. I don't feel negativity or negative commentary so deeply. Instead I think, ok, they just don't see it. Let me get in front of the right group of people who do see where I'm coming from. Aligned with that, I've also been taught how to be around adults all the time. Since [my siblings and I] have been put in so many kinds of environments since we were young, we know how to carry ourselves in certain rooms. We know how to have adult conversations. It's really shaped my sisters and I to be very personable with people, to show up on time, to earn people's respect. Also, I don't think I'm in a place where anyone should think I deserve something just because of my parents. Absolutely not.

TR: When did you know you wanted to try modeling? When Story + Rain launched I remember getting a package from IMG that included your comp card.

SS: Oh my God, wow! My mom was a model. She was and still is the most beautiful person I've ever seen. I would look at her in the morning, be amazed and think,  I hope I can look like that one day. I'd never seen anything prettier in my life. I was also so fascinated by these big coffee table books of models that had photos of the icons. I'd collect them in my room, and at night I would read through them. I became fascinated with the art of it. I might have been more interested in the photography, but I also remember thinking, I want to look like that. I want to be one of those girls. When I was 13, my mom agreed to take me to LA Models and some other local agencies to see how I liked it. I do have to say I haven't been signed with an agency since I was around 18. At that time when I was modeling and trying to take it very seriously, I was also so insecure. I was coming into myself as a woman. I couldn't figure out my face yet. There was a lot of pressure, and I give so much credit to young women who can handle that pressure. I certainly thought I wasn't ready for it yet. Having the different mindset that I have now, and different confidence in terms of the way that I look at myself, I'm now so proud and excited by the photos I take, like the shoot that we just did. That extra weight of it, the it-needs-to-be-perfect, is gone. [Our shoot] felt freeing and fun. I have a totally different relationship with modeling and photo shoots now.

TR: What I saw on our photo shoot was that you were in your element. Everything came together in that magical and inexplicable way that we tend to see on photo shoots 'when the stars align'. There's an art to modeling. Has your mother shared any advice with you in terms of what makes for a great model?

SS: We used to practice posing in the mirror. We would practice doing mock photo shoots. We would talk about my angle. She would teach me how to make my body look as long as possible, by doing the S-pose with my hips and shoulders. All day, we'd walk up and down my hallway. We'd walk in hotel lobbies, practicing walking in heels. She was my biggest cheerleader even when I didn't think that I was good enough, out of insecurity. But she did. She's really helped push things forward for me.

TR: Do you enjoy acting?

SS: You know what? I really do. I think the tough thing about this business though, is I want to work, I want to work now, and I want to work on my own timeline. The problem with acting and modeling is that I have to wait for someone's 'yes'. You could work, get a great movie job...I'd booked this huge job...a three month shoot... and it's fantastic. But then it's a year of nothing. I was so tired of waiting around after going to acting classes for almost three years. I wanted to make work for myself! But I love the business, I love how creative it is like modeling. I just couldn't keep waiting. I was tired of sitting on my hands.

TR: With modeling and acting under your belt, and the podcast that you share with your sister, how do you approach your career?

SS: I was the girl who waited for the opportunities. For around the past four years, since [Sophia and I] started our podcast, I realized that it's what I'm really good at. I love talking, I love interviewing people. I love communicating and I love getting different opinions. It's been where I truly feel like myself. There's only so much you can portray through a photograph, or on screen, through acting. This is my niche. I didn't realize you could even have this kind of feeling, where something hits so organically for you. Trying a bunch of things and getting a bunch of 'no's' is hard. There was a huge period where I thought, what am I going to do with my life? What are my skills? What am I good at? How do I make my parents proud? How do I start to support myself? These are big things. If I didn't hear the no's and didn't start spiraling a little bit...

TR: If you don't put yourself out there, you're never going to be faced with opportunity.

SS: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!

TR: Will you dive further into modeling and acting? Right now you're really hitting your stride with the podcast, it's doing well; you identify with being a host and you enjoy using those skills,  but do you think that you'd head back into modeling and acting if those opportunities were to arise?

SS: I mean, why not? This is my year of yes. In terms of modeling, it has to be something that I'm really excited about, really passionate about, like when I saw the creative direction for the Story + Rain shoot that we did---that was an easy yes for me. Easy yes. Do I see myself committing to going to fifteen castings a day again? Probably not. I want to be able to manage my time efficiently. It has to be the right opportunity and the same goes for acting. If the right project comes along, I'll take a look.

TR: Did you and your sister and co-host Sophia sit down to really think through how and what you'd cover on the podcast, how open you'd be, or how freely you'd speak?

SS: We had so many conversations. Sophia originally had the idea of doing a podcast on her own, and it was going to be a totally different concept. She's very into literature and speaking with doctors. It would have been completely different than what we have today. I was being a nagging, annoying sister around the time of the Covid pandemic when we were all stuck at home. I said, 'Please let me do this, please let me do this!'. She said fine, I'll let you do the show, and we completely reworked it into the concept it is today. There were so many conversations around 'How open do we really want to be? ' You want to give people honesty. That's what's hard about being a podcast host. You want to allow a lot, but at the same time you don't. The one restriction, the one cutoff we both agreed upon, was around our episodes involving our dating lives. We bring on sex therapists, we talk very openly about dating, but we made a promise to ourselves that we won't put anything out there that, down the line when we become mothers, might bite us in the ass. So that means nothing too rated R, nothing too X-rated. We still spill a lot.

TR: You had a birthday recently and are on the upper end of what's considered Gen Z. What is your general stance on sharing on the podcast, on social media, and in general? What do you say about Gen Z's willingness and inclination really to share, share, share.

SS: We're very open, I will say that. It's so interesting to me. Sophia and I have really tapped into studying trends, especially on TikTok and social media. We look into why certain things go viral. It's always the exploiting of someone. It's the spilling tea on a person. I do think if it works for your brand, great. I get nervous, because I don't want to overshare and get anyone upset. There have been a few times when we've divulged on the very bad dates we've been on, and then the guy will call us on it and say, 'that wasn't right, that's not cool.'  We do say, though, if something bad happens in our life---that makes for great podcast content!

TR: The day we were shooting this cover story we talked about all the work that goes into having a podcast, and how hands-on you and Sophia are.

SS: It is a lot of work. Sophia and I have produced it ourselves. We write every show, we edit every show. Sophia learned how to code, so she does the RSS upload. I do all the scripts and the editing. It's 's a full time job. You get it... We love it but I do have to say that in the beginning, it was really hard. We saw a little bit of a dent during the first three years, but nothing substantial. We'd have to go out and find our guests and advertisers, so we really didn't feel it hit. I think that was the hardest part. We've been doing this for three years now; is it paying off??  If anyone's thinking about [starting a podcast] or if anyone can relate to this in their career at all, keep going, because it will eventually hit. I feel like finally we're seeing a shift, which makes all the grunt work  so worth it.

TR: In culture and in media at this time, there's so much content being shared. It can take time for things to 'hit'. What do you find to be the most challenging part of creating and producing your podcast?

SS: ...Exactly what you just said, creating something that stands out. The podcast industry is so saturated. We've never said anything that hasn't already been said. Everything is already pretty much out there, but it's about being creative and finding a way to do it a bit differently. A lot of podcasts will go on tour and create merch. There are many routine avenues to take. Sophia and I have discussed, what's something none of these people have done? What is something completely different, completely fresh, completely new? What is something we can start? We've developed an idea which I can't share yet. We're super proud of it. To your point, it's really hard. You have to honestly love podcasting to keep a podcast going. You have to really love it.

TR: Only you can have the conversation that you and Sophia can have, in the way that you have it. In that way, you're doing something very organic. Unwaxed feels very conversational. People want to be the fly on the wall, listening in on what is exciting you, and what you're coming across. It's authenticity.

SS: Totally. We say this on our show: we want to be the sisters you never had. We want it to feel like girl-chat for forty-five minutes.

TR: Have you received any advice along the way,  solicited or unsolicited, when it comes to your podcast? I'm sure a lot of people have a lot of things to say.

SS: There have been lot of opinions. And of course we've had a lot of people that tell us the generic, 'Keep going, and this is what we recommend for you'. We've also had some men say that the reason our numbers are low is because we aren't as vulgar as we should be, and that we don't give enough detail. In any form of business, you'll encounter so many different types of people, and how do you handle it? Who do you choose to surround yourself with? I would argue that podcasting is one of the very few businesses where it needs to be so 100%, about you. That's what feels good about having the show. Even if my mom's like, 'You guys talk too fast...You say too much...You didn't explain enough..', at the end of the day, it's our show. It's our baby. We can put out whatever we want.

SS: Where do you think you've had the most success with Unwaxed? Which episodes resonate the most with listeners?

SS: People love the episodes with my parents, of course. We used to have a lot of guests on, which was amazing, but we felt like people weren't really getting to know Sophia and I---which was the goal. The best part about doing the show, as the format has shifted over the past eleven months, is that we're finally tapping into the young adult female audience. It's so exciting. I have girls coming up to me on the street in New York saying that they love the show. That doesn't get old. I literally scream and cry. Are you joking?! Sometimes Sophia and I think we're doing it for no one, so that's probably the most rewarding thing. Even if the video didn't get that many views, we'll still get messages from girls or advice from girls. We have this segment on our show where people write in asking for help. It feels really rewarding that people actually care what we have to say.

TR: When does season three of The Family Stallone drop? The show's moved to Hulu. That's a perfect place for you.

SS: I know. It's amazing. It's been a really long, trying, rewarding journey. We actually don't know. We have no clue when we're going to gear up for a third season.  The first two seasons were shot back-to-back. The first season took about ten months to shoot; same with the second one. Then we did press right in the middle of it all, and started over again. It was kind of a lot on our family. My dad's so funny, he says that this is the hardest job he's ever had to do in his career. It's no joke, it's 8 in the morning until 8 at night, nonstop, and sometimes seven days a week. We went on our first family vacation in five years just a few weeks ago. We're really enjoying the break right now. We'll see, it's currently up in the air.

TR: What's ironic is that season two wraps with an epic trip your family takes to Italy. You told me that you wished you had more time away from shooting, to do more.

SS: I would be lying if I didn't say that Sophia and I tried to sneak out at night on that trip. If we did, [production] would wake up to film it. I get it, I respect it, they're doing their job. But when it's breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even the moments when you're jet lagged?! There's a camera on you, so relaxing isn't happening.

TR: Was your vacation-vacation was a good one?

SS: It was amazing. Unfortunately, my little sister started school again, at University of Miami, so she wasn't able to come. It was Sophia and my parents and I, and it was exactly what we needed.

TR; How did the move to Hulu happen?  

SS: I wish I was in those meetings a little bit more. I think Hulu was on our list of original top-two platforms. We envisioned the show starting there. Then ultimately it came down to Paramount because my dad was already working very closely with Paramount for Tulsa King. It made sense to have both on one platform. I'm just happy that our show was picked up in the first place! That was a win.

TR: The Family Stallone has a vast fan base. What have you heard about the fact that you're reaching and delighting this whole new group of fans, as a family?

SS: What's so interesting about the show is that we have more fans when we leave the country. It's worldwide. It's crazy. We always make this joke that if someone on the street recognizes Sophia and I, and they're an older person, they say they love The Family Stallone. If they're a younger person, they say they love our podcast. That says something about our demographics. And it's very cool to see how many foreign fans we have. It's very exciting.

TR: Has there been any talk about what people can expect from season three?

SS: Typically for a reality show, before you start a season, everyone who will be on camera sits down and maps out what will be their 'A' storyline, their 'B' storyline, their 'C' storyline. The rest is then filled in. It's not scripted at all, but it does give producers and editors a direction for what each family member or character is going to go through. Between shooting the first and the second seasons there were a lot of changes. Sophia and I moved to New York; Sophia broke up with her boyfriend; I'm single; Scarlet has a boy. We want to make sure that if we do a third season, we're giving people something totally new, something they haven't seen before. At the moment, my current life is pretty similar to season two. What could I do that would make people interested in my life right now?

TR: ...And that's reality, that's honest. The same can be said of many of us. What am I doing now that I wasn't doing about eight months ago? But there are always the routine things that go on in our daily lives, and then there are the things that are on our checklists...

SS: You actually do ask yourself the question, 'What would be interesting about my life right now? What are the three big things that are going to be exciting enough for someone to watch on the couch?  I'm like, 'Oh, shoot; I just like to go to the grocery store. I like to cook a little bit. We watch TV. This isn't exciting for anyone!

TR: What are you personally looking forward to about shooting the next season?

SS: The best part about shooting the show truly is being with my family. It's been harder as we get older, I definitely took things for granted and did not realize what people were saying when they warned me of this a few years ago. As [us siblings] have gotten older, it's empty nesters all over the place. It's rare for all of us to be in one place at the same time. The best part of doing the show is that we are able to spend weeks at a time together, living at home again. That's a weird concept to think about because I'm an adult and I live on my own with my sister and I love my independence. But when you go back to your family home, you feel safe and like a kid again. That's a really comforting feeling to have. You can turn your brain off a little bit.

TR: I think a lot of why The Family Stallone is so popular is that people are picking up on that joy---on everyone's joy---on screen. A couple of seasons in, how have you learned to prepare for the show, mentally, physically, getting the outfits, all the things?

SS: During the first season we were trying really hard to look like a reality TV show family, and like we've done this before. All of the outfits were perfect. We'd be sitting on the couch lounging, having a chill conversation, and I'd be in a matching two-piece tan suit. Then we thought, maybe for the second season we'll have no stylists. We wanted to be more authentically 'us'. We would do our own hair and makeup sometimes. We would re-wear our sweatpants. We thought, this is who we are so let's try to stay as close to that as possible. Why are we sitting in the valley having a conversation, and I have a cashmere suit on? What am I doing?! The more we film it, the more comfortable we become. In terms of preparing mentally, there really is no mental preparation for it. You just wake up and think, ok, it's happening in three days. This is real. Gotta get ready. And you almost have to say goodbye to your friends and your social life, because for the next few months you'll have zero of it unless they want to film---which a lot of my friends are not keen on doing. I don't blame them for that. There's no real physical transformation aside from, you know, fixing our roots!

TR: What is your perspective today, in terms of what it takes to be successful at creating good reality TV?

SS: Oh God. Years. Years. Honestly, if you look at the Kardashians, for example, and they are pretty much the OG's besides the Osbournes, they paved the way for what a family reality show hit could look like. It wasn't until their seventh, eighth, or ninth season---that people really started to fall in love with them. It also has to be one of those things where everyone is on the same page. Are we ready to dedicate another four years to this? Are we ready to have these big life moments, like getting engaged or married, having a baby, on camera? Those are the bigger questions. There were boundaries we had discussed as a family, I don't want to say that we're boring, because we're definitely not boring people, but we're also not those eccentric, wild Hollywood kids who are sneaking out late and doing drugs. Our typical Friday night is sitting on the couch and watching reality TV and eating snacks. There was a conversation about boundaries we had, about not wanting production to take advantage of certain situations, and about going overtime. When we say we're done, it has to be done.

TR: How are we going to keep ourselves sane and feel taken care of, in all of this...

SS: Exactly. And going back to authenticity, my mom is really cute, she's one of the cutest little nuggets ever, because she has all these ideas and gets so excited. We'd create notes in the Notes app with the types of things we think would be interesting for the show, and all of hers are like, 'We should make cookies. Let's do a puzzle.' Her ideas are very wholesome, old-mom activities. Production will say, 'That's boring. We need you to do this...' That was one was the hardest battles, because that's what authentic to our family; that's what we really do. We do a game night, but that's not interesting enough. We tow the line of giving people something that will keep them captivated, but at the same time, something that still gives us peace of mind and is aligned with our reputations.

TR: Are there any personal growth learnings that have come with filming the show at this time in your life?

SS: I've learned to say no, which I've had a really hard time doing, always. I always thought you have to smile at everyone.  I apologize for everything. I was always uncomfortable when I would agree to do something but didn't really want to do it.  I started to say to myself, why do I keep doing things that don't make me feel like me? 'No' has been a big one. I'm still learning to that. I would say another moment of growth has to do with the way that we appear on the show. My mom kept telling us, as she does with dating and friendship, if someone doesn't like you, they can go F themself. She'd say, 'And I'll tell you this right now, girls, you're not special. You're special to your dad, to me, to your family, to your friends---but to the world, you're not special. Do not come off like you are better-than or entitled, and don't try to present yourself in a certain way. I thought, she's right. That made me feel like it's cool to just be myself, and people will like me. And if someone doesn't, that's also okay.

TR: On your podcast, you talk about living it up this year. What does that mean to you exactly?

SS:  Let me tell you. I think I'm full of shit. I keep saying, 'I'm going to say yes to this. I'm going to go out more. I'm going to date more.' I am so lame, but I've been trying. Sophia and I will go to concerts. Sometimes we'll go out on a Thursday night, not clubbing, but I guess our version of going out is eating at a really nice restaurant and having maybe three cocktails. That's our version of living it up.

TR: That's a great night, especially in New York City.

SS: Everyone asks me, 'How are you enjoying the city?' And I always say, 'I love it, but I'm exhausted all the time.' There's no place I'd rather be at 26 years old. It's perfect. I'm growing as a person. I'm learning a lot. I feel like I'm really coming into my own. But I'm so tired. Pray for me. This city truly never sleeps. You're not allowed to procrastinate in New York City. That's what I've learned.