Stallone opens up about his old rivalry with Schwarzenegger

In the history of Hollywood action cinema, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are two inseparable names. From the 1980s through the 1990s, their battle at the box office was a subject of intense discussion. After a long time, ‘Rambo’ star Sylvester Stallone has opened up about that old enmity and rivalry.

In a recent interview on the podcast ‘The Rest Is Entertainment’, the 80-year-old actor recalled the days he spent with his contemporary rival Schwarzenegger.

Asked whether the rivalry had affected his career, Stallone said, ‘Yes, it definitely did. We were fierce rivals of each other.’ He said that the intense competition played a big role in shaping his career.

Telling the story of how he came into action cinema, Stallone said, ‘The situation was such — two men were starting out in a completely new genre, and both wanted to establish their own reign there. I never wanted to be an action hero. But after doing “First Blood”, I felt that if action films were made properly, they could become modern mythology. Just as in ancient times it happened with “The Iliad”, “The Odyssey”, “Hercules” or “Achilles”.’

Recalling a funny incident from the Golden Globe Awards, Stallone said that as soon as he saw Schwarzenegger, he understood this man was going to be a big problem for him. At that ceremony in 1977, when Schwarzenegger won the best newcomer actor award for the docudrama ‘Pumping Iron’, Stallone was quite surprised and annoyed.

Then, when Stallone won an award for ‘Rocky’, he playfully threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger in celebration. In Stallone's words, ‘That is basically where the fight began.’

After that began the race to outdo each other. Stallone made ‘Rambo’, Schwarzenegger brought ‘Commando’. Stallone said, ‘Who would use a bigger weapon, whose film would have more attractive action scenes, whose locations were better — on screen and off screen, extreme competition went on between us over these things. I enjoyed it quite a bit too.’

Stallone said that in 1991, when the two of them together launched a restaurant called ‘Planet Hollywood’, they still would not stand together on the same stage.

But with time, that distance between them came to an end. In 2003, when Schwarzenegger announced his run for governor of California, the two met at a cigar shop. There Stallone stepped forward and said, ‘Let us stop all this now. There is no more competition between us over films.’

Ending the long rivalry and distance, the two stars later appeared together on screen as well. They surprised fans by working together in ‘The Expendables’ franchise, directed by Stallone. They were also seen together in the 2013 film ‘Escape Plan’.

Last October, Stallone told People magazine that he now shares a wonderful friendship with Schwarzenegger. With time, both have calmed down. But the veteran Hollywood actor frankly admitted that the real-life rivalry had inspired them to do even better work.