Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone have had a cordial rivalry for a long time, frequently vying for leading action film parts and flaunting their disparate bodies. However, the two performers, who are usually seen together in movies and public events, have grown to respect one another despite their competitive attitude.
The Arnold-Sylvester Rivalry
Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are two titans of classic action movies. But for twenty years, they absolutely hated each other.
2. A Bad Movie
Did you know Arnold once tricked Sylvester Stallone into making a very bad movie? Maybe you are one of the lucky ones who never saw Sylvester Stallone and Estelle Getty in the mother-and-son action comedy Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. It’s… not great.
3. Big Muscles And An Even Bigger Fight
Throughout the 80s and 90s, Stallone and Schwarzenegger dominated the box office. Both actors were known for their huge muscles, heroic personalities, and the ability to take down an army of villains single-handedly.
4. Frenemies
Long before the Expendables franchise made them co-stars and back when the Planet Hollywood restaurant in China made them business partners, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were competitors.
5. Who Is The Best Action Hero?
They were constantly fighting for the title of “Best Action Hero”. It was all about who has more muscles, who has bigger armament, and who can shoot more people in more unique ways.
6. The Real Life Fight
But their rivalry was not only confined to movies. Sylvester once confessed that he wanted to strangle Arnold and Arnold wanted to strangle him.
7. How It Began
Their paths first crossed when they were assigned to the same table at the 34th Golden Globes Awards. “I’ll never forget it, I said “Who is this hulking guy?” I had no idea”, Sylvester recalls.
8. Sylvester Lost But…
Rocky, the unexpected box office hit, was nominated for 6 awards, including “Best Actor”. It was Sly’s big break after years of unsuccessful acting gigs.
9. Arnold Won
Unfortunately, he lost in the category. But another rising star had his moment that night. Arnold won his first acting award for “Best Acting Debut” in the movie Stay Hungry.
10. The Incident
Regarding that night, Sylvester admitted “And I’m sitting there, and between us is this giant bouquet. I took the flowers and threw them in the air, and as fate would have it, the majority landed on Arnold”.
11. The Competition
That moment marked the beginning of their bitter rivalry. And the competition was fierce.
12. “Rambo”
Each actor wanted to outdo the other, not just in terms of box office numbers, but also in physical strength. Sylvester did Rambo.
13. “Commando”
And then Arnold did Commando. It spilled over into their public lives, with both attacking each other in interviews and the press.
14. “Rocky IV”
Arnold accused Sly of using body doubles in his films. Then, in Rocky IV, Stallone battled against Ivan Drago, a tall, robotic villain who spoke in a strange accent.
15. The Beginning of the End?
It’s likely that these specific characteristics were meant to remind viewers of Schwarzenegger. But as the years passed and the two men grew older and wiser.
16. War Is Over
They realized they had more in common than they thought. A few years ago, Sylvester said that he thinks Arnold is brilliant and praised what he’s done, what he’s accomplished, and the fact that he’s had so many different careers.
17. The Best Of Both Worlds
Both were hard-working, motivated, and determined. And their rivalry brought out the best of them.
18. Friends Will Be Friends
Sylvester even declared that they realized “they’re the same person” and they are great friends now!
19. A Marketing Strategy?
Arnold has acknowledged that the competition was a driving force in his career. Arnold once said: “The competitiveness really pays off”.
20. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
Stallone too has spoken about how Arnold pushed him to work harder and strive for excellence. “Arnold is a genius. He’s had 3 incredible careers. He may not be able to sit there and split atoms, but he knows how to get things done”.
21. Arnold’s Campaign
As a gesture of goodwill, Slyvester donated $15,000 to Arnold’s election campaign in 2005. Schwarzenegger was elected as California’s governor that year.
22. The Elections
Schwarzenegger, a Republican, replaced Democrat Gray Davis, the first U.S. governor since 1921 to be recalled by referendum. The action film star captured 48.6 percent of the vote.
23. “Shade”
In 2003, Stallone starred in the neo-noir crime thriller film Shade starring Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, and Thandiwe Newton. The film has a 67% rating from 15 critics, and some say it’s a good casino-style movie.
24. “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over”
That same year, Sylvester played Toymaker in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. A movie that portrays Juni Cortez, a kid who decides to play Game Over, a virtual reality-based game designed by the Toymaker, in order to find and rescue his sister Carmen who is trapped inside Level 4 of the game.
25. “Collateral Damage”
On Arnold’s part, he starred in Collateral Damage in 2003, the vigilante action-thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Elias Koteas and Francesca Neri. The film tells the story of Los Angeles firefighter Gordon Brewer (Schwarzenegger), who seeks to avenge his son’s and wife’s deaths at the hands of a guerrilla commando.
26. “Terminator”
In that same year, he also featured in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the science fiction action film and the third installment in the Terminator franchise. This movie won “Top Box Office Film” in the ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards.
27. “The Expendables”
By now, they have both become seasoned veterans of Hollywood. They have shifted from rivals to co-stars and have appeared together in the movie “The Expendables”.
28. Working Together
During the premiere, Arnold stated “We were trying for decades to do a movie together. Finally, we found a script”
29. Hospital Run-In
When both coincidentally underwent surgery at the same hospital in 2012, they asked their beds to be positioned side by side. “After all the action, stunts & physical demand shooting ‘The Expendables’, it was time for a little tune-up on my shoulder”, Schwarzenegger wrote alongside the photo on his Whosay account.
30. Just A Friendly Rivalry
The rivalry between these talented actors went on for about twenty years, often involving incidents of one-upmanship and subterfuge from both parties. However, in retrospect, the conflict between Stallone and Schwarzenegger can be seen as a golden era of action cinema.
