Sylvester Stallone‘s ongoing role as Dwight Manfredi in Tulsa King is his funniest character since his 2021 superhero movie. Though Tulsa King sees Dwight building and maintaining a criminal empire as a mob boss, it also has more than its fair share of comedic moments. The cast of Tulsa King is extremely capable of telling good jokes, but one actor stands out among the rest: Sylvester Stallone. His ability to garner laughs and steal a comedic scene is really impressive and surprising, but his talent for comedies isn’t completely unprecedented.
Stallone has done his fair share of comedies in the past, from kids movies like Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over to more mature comedies like Oscar. Neither of those films were particularly well received, though, and he mostly shied away from comedy throughout his career in favor of actioners like Rambo, Rocky, and The Expendables. That seems to have changed in recent years, however, as Stallone is currently playing his funniest character in years on Tulsa King. Dwight is such a humorous character that Sylvester Stallone only has one other role that matches Tulsa King‘s comedy: Nanaue in The Suicide Squad.
Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King Character Is Just As Funny As Nanaue In The Suicide Squad
Both Dwight & Nanaue Can Make Self-Deprecating & Hilarious Jokes
There are a couple scenes, especially when Dwight gets high, as he did in Tulsa King season 2, episode 4, that prove Sylvester Stallone can play humorous characters exceptionally well. Those scenes actually make Dwight Stallone’s funniest character since he voiced Nanaue, or King Shark, in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. Nanaue was a massive, semi-intelligent shark who served as one of several sources of comedic relief for the film. Semi-intelligent may be a generous description, though, as many of Nanaue’s jokes were at his expense.
Some of Nanaue’s jokes included believing he could disguise himself by using his finger as a fake mustache, reading a book upside down and declaring “Book read. So smart me,” and proudly announcing that he saw a bird during an intense rescue operation. Dwight is a much smarter character than Nanaue, but the two have a lot in common whenever Dwight gets high. In Tulsa King season 2, episode 4, Dwight went on a hilarious rant about how music was invented, told the story of how he got tinnitus, and was a general nuisance to Bodhi, and those jokes were very similar to Nanaue’s brand of humor.
How Sylvester Stallone’s Recent Projects Have Highlighted His Versatility
Stallone Has Begun To Highlight His Comedic & Dramatic Skills
Both Tulsa King and The Suicide Squad have not only given Sylvester Stallone a chance to show his more playful, humorous acting, they’ve also highlighted just how much range he has. For most of his career, Stallone has been known for tough and serious action movies. Dwight and Nanaue, however, prove that Stallone never needed to be typecast as a burly tough guy, he could just as easily have been a comedian. Both of those roles have had their fair share of action elements, but Stallone proved he doesn’t need to rely on fight scenes to draw in viewers.
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Sylvester Stallone is one of the last remaining movie stars. From Rocky to First Blood to The Suicide Squad, Stallone has starred in some great films.
Dwight and Nanaue have also given Stallone a chance to not just be funny, but also show that he can imbue his characters with an exceptionally strong emotional core. Stallone took a massive upright shark and turned him into a lovable and sweet character. Likewise, though Stallone plays a great gangster, he made Dwight a family man who’s filled with compassion and kindness for the people he loves. Additionally, Stallone has proven that more emotional and sweet characters work exceptionally well for him: Tulsa King has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 89%, while The Suicide Squad earned 90%.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
Tulsa King is a Paramount+ original TV series starring Sylvester Stallone as Dwight “The General” Manfredi. After being released from prison for murder, The General is sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he quickly sets up a new criminal empire. Tulsa King marks Stallone’s first leading role in a TV show.
- Release Date
- November 11, 2022
- Seasons
- 2
- Writers
- Taylor Sheridan
- Directors
- Taylor Sheridan
- Showrunner
- Terence Winter
