Sylvester Stallone has banned his daughters from dating until they are in their 40s. The 'Expendables' actor - who has Sophia, 18, Sistine, 16, and Scarlet, 13, with wife Jennifer Flavin - realised he wasn't going to be an "accepting" father, when his eldest daughter was called by a boy four years ago.

He said: "I told my three daughters they weren't allowed to date until their mid-40s, but that's not going down well ... . The first time a boy called Sophia, she was 14 at the time. I realised I wasn't going to be an accepting father. The boy asked, 'Where's Sophia?' I said, 'She's in Egypt and she'll be there forever.' Everyone started yelling at me."

The 68-year-old star admits his daughters hasn't listened to his warning, and he ended up in a "battle" with Sophia's current boyfriend when they met for the first time.

He recalled in an interview with Britain's OK! magazine: "I've finally met Sophia's first boyfriend; he is 18. We shook hands and I said, 'No, you've got to learn to squeeze harder than that pal.' We got into a hand-squeezing battle."

Despite his celebrity status, the Rocky star's daughters are embarrassed to be seen with him and don't even like him dropping them off at school.

Asked if he is an embarrassing dad, he admitted: "Very! If I'm within a mile of them, it's like, 'Dad, can you please wear a disguise?' I say, 'Can I drop you off at school?' They say, 'No, we're going to take the bus.' Everyone at their school is happy to see me but them. But it happens with celebrity parents. I'm going to go dressed as Michael Douglas next time."