Sly Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were both giants years ago in the action film category. Stallone hit really big with the Rocky and Rambo franchises. Schwarzenegger wowed audiences with films like True Lies and The Terminator. You could argue that there was plenty of public interest in each of them so they would not need to compete. But Hollywood being what it is, they did unofficially vie for the title of most popular movie tough guy. In fact, Stallone recently talked about their intense rivalry when he was on the podcast The Rest Is Entertainment.
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The Rocky star claims that Schwarzenegger gave him some nasty sideye at the Golden Globes once. Stallone, not one to back down, flung flowers at him when they next crossed paths. He shared, "I made like I was celebrating, like, 'yay.' And the gauntlet was thrown, and it was on."
They Egged Each Other on at the Box Office
Their feud served a purpose in a way. Stallone and Schwarzenegger were trying to outdo each other with the films they made. Stallone explained that, "It was very contentious, trust me, which I enjoyed. Because the madder i made him, the madder he made me, the more we fought to make the next action film — bigger knife, louder gun, more body count, this and that, better location. It just kept elevating."
But there was a downside as well, he admitted. When the two were together in 1991 at the Planet Hollywood launch, "they couldn't stand to be on the same stage as one another to do promotion," per Page Six.
Years Later, They Finally Put Their Differences Aside
It took a very long time, but Sly Stallone and Arnold Scjwarzenegger at last put their race for movie dominance to rest. In 2003, Schwarzenegger became governor of California. He and Stallone saw each other at a cigar shop, had a friendly smoke together, and stopped their wrangling. Now he claims they are buddies.
Said Stallone, "We're always going to be competitive. That's the nature of the beast and I enjoy it. We're not as financially competitive anymore ... that's long gone."
