Posted by Adam

Thursday October 10, 2013

ROBERT De Niro begged Sylvester Stallone not to hurt him while the pair filmed their flick about two aged ex-pro boxer rivals lured out of happy retirement for an oldies rematch.

De Niro apparently told Sly, “Listen, Sly…I had a bad rib injury not long ago that I’m still nursing, so please – don’t hurt me!”

Even though both actors had body doubles for the major fight scenes in Grudge Match, De Niro was worried Stallone might tag him hard during close-up sequences, where it was just the two of them, according to the National Enquirer.

“But Stallone was a total gentleman,” said a source.

“He held back and pulled punches, while De Niro gave it his all. After filming was over, Sly told his acting buddy he hoped he hadn’t irritated his rib injury — and that’s when a grinning De Niro delivered his knockout punch, telling Stallone: ‘I never had a rib injury – I just told you that so you wouldn’t kill me!’ Sly looked so shocked, it was hilarious!

“He said, ‘What?…You just made that s*** up?’”

Tags: robert de niro, sylvester stallone