Tough-guy movie leaves Stallone with broken neck

Sylvester Stallone, the 63-year-old Rocky star, has boasted how his new film, The Expendables, is the ultimate tough guy's movie. Yet when the Hollywood hardman came up against wrestling star 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, it was Stallone who ended up with a broken neck, he has revealed.

As well as Stallone, who is the film's director and co-writer,  The Expendables stars a roll-call of Hollywood hard men. They include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke and British actor Jason Statham. It is also the last film with actress Brittany Murphy, who died in December after collapsing at home.

The Expendables is about a team of mercenaries who embark on a mission to overthrow a South American dictator. The film's fight scenes were ultra-realistic, Stallone told FHM magazine this month. "Man, it was seven guys, kicking each other's ass, one guy tougher than the next - no joke, our stunt guys were begging for mercy," he said.

But Stallone met his match in 45-year-old professional wrestler Austin. Following a "vicious" fight scene, Stallone ended up with a hairline fracture and underwent surgery to have a metal plate inserted into his neck.

This is not the first time Stallone has been hurt by a fellow actor. Filming Rocky IV in the 1980s, he had to be airlifted to hospital after shooting a scene with Dolph Lundgren. "I gave him orders to try to knock me out while the cameras were rolling," said Stallone. "At one point, he hit me so hard on the top of the head I felt my spine compress. I was told that Dolph had punched my rib cage into my chest, compressing my heart. If it had swollen [sic] any more, I would have died. After that, I was like, 'Dolph, it's only a movie'." ·