Having a job that he hated and was at odds with while also knowing he was a million-to-one shot in the boxing world, Rocky was the embodiment of “the every day man”, whom Sylvester Stallone puts it “lives in quiet desperation” while yearning for the opportunity to rise or fall on his own abilities. 
Producer Robert Chartoff would say about the character, “With everything he does, even when he’s collecting money for these creeps, he’s above them. There’s an honesty and integrity to the guy that’s just so totally appealing and so completely relatable.”
