Sylvester Stallone Reveals How He Finally Ended His 20-Year Rivalry With Arnold Schwarzenegger

Sylvester Stallone has opened up about one of Hollywood’s most famous feuds, reflecting on his two-decade rivalry with fellow action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger in a new episode of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast. Looking back on a conflict that defined much of both men’s careers in the 1980s and 1990s, Stallone admitted the beef “wasn’t put to bed until 20 years later.”

Two Rising Stars, One Genre to Rule

According to Stallone, the tension grew out of two ambitious actors arriving at the start of the same genre and both wanting to lead it. He described himself as initially reluctant to be typecast as an action star, but realized after First Blood that the genre could function as a kind of modern mythology in the vein of Hercules or the Iliad. Once Schwarzenegger entered the picture, Stallone knew immediately they were on a collision course. The rivalry played out both on screen and off, from Stallone’s Rambo going toe to toe with Schwarzenegger’s Commando at the box office, to the two men exchanging icy stares across the room at the Golden Globe Awards. Stallone has said the competition pushed both of them to raise their game, shaping some of the most career-defining work either man produced.

Stallone and Schwarzenegger together on a convention panel, years after their rivalry turned into friendship.

From Bitter Rivals to Genuine Friends

Stallone has said that things between the two men only began to cool once Schwarzenegger stepped away from acting to run for Governor of California in 2003, removing the sense of direct competition between them. Once Schwarzenegger’s time in politics ended, the pair reunited on screen for 2010’s The Expendables, kicking off a run that continued through Expendables 2, Escape Plan, and Expendables 3. Their relationship has clearly evolved into a genuine friendship in the years since. When Stallone lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Creed in 2016, Schwarzenegger publicly rallied behind him, telling his former rival that no matter the result, he was still the winner in his eyes. Stallone, for his part, has repeatedly credited Schwarzenegger’s drive as a major reason the action genre reached the heights it did in that era.

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Picture Source: Gage Skidmore, Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)