Summary

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone had an intense rivalry, partly due to becoming action stars around the same time.
  • Despite their history, Schwarzenegger and Stallone eventually became great friends and are now inseparable.
  • The Expendables franchise played a significant role in softening their former nemesis status, as Stallone and Schwarzenegger starred alongside each other in the films.

Sylvester Stallone. Each action stars in their own right, Schwarzenegger and Stallone are both known for several major series. Schwarzenegger’s claim to fame rests in films including Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator, whereas Stallone became most notably recognized for the Rocky series before going on to make the Rambo films.

Speaking with The Graham Norton Show (via Schwarzenegger and Stallone's rivalry below:

We were movie rivals, but we took the competitiveness to the extreme – we each had to have the best body, we had to kill more people in our films and we had to have the biggest guns. It got out of control, and we tried to derail each other.

Then when we both invested in Planet Hollywood, we started flying around the world together to promote it, and we became fantastic friends. He is a great human being, and we are now inseparable.

Schwarzenegger and Stallone Had Concurrent Action Film Careers

Rambo with his arrows pointed in Rambo First Blood

Schwarzenegger and Stallone’s cinematic feuding is not entirely shocking given the timelines of their two careers. Schwarzenegger played the eponymous role of The Terminator in 1984, just two years after Stallone took the role of Rambo in First Blood. Both films ended up leading to follow-up films, aiding the action careers of both actors, but with their concurrent timelines, it makes sense that the two action stars would build up some competition.

As Schwarzenegger explains, the pair luckily became close as time went on. Eventually, Stallone and Schwarzenegger would even go on to star alongside each other in The Expendables 2 and The Expendables 3. In many ways, that franchise is Stallone’s baby – he directed the first film and has served as a screenwriter and/or producer for the other films – so including Schwarzenegger indicates the ultimate softening of their former nemesis status.

Schwarzenegger will soon appear alongside Stallone again, but this time in non-fiction form as the actor is interviewed for the documentary Sly. Set to premiere on Netflix on November 3, Sly documents the twists and turns in Stallone’s near-half-century-long career. Luckily for Schwarzenegger and Stallone both, one of those career pivots ended up being the duo’s shift from foes to friends.

Source: The Graham Norton Show (via Variety)