Back in the ’80s, the two actors dominated the action film scene with their blockbuster hits. Their competition was intense, and both were known to publicly take jabs at each other.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, two of the biggest action heroes of the 1980s, didn’t always see eye to eye. In fact, as Schwarzenegger recently admitted, they spent years locked in a fierce rivalry.
“We really couldn’t stand each other,” Schwarzenegger said in a candid chat with Andy Cohen on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy. “We were constantly trying to outdo each other, whether it was in movies, at the box office, or even in the headlines.”
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Back in the ’80s, the two actors dominated the action film scene with their blockbuster hits. Their competition was intense, and both were known to publicly take jabs at each other.
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“We said nasty things, did petty things – all the stupid stuff you do when you’re caught up in a rivalry,” Schwarzenegger recalled.
But as time passed, things began to shift. Their turning point came unexpectedly through business. Arnold Schwarzenegger shared that when he started working with Robert Earl and Keith Parish to launch the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain in the early ’90s, his lawyer, who also happened to represent Sylvester Stallone, reached out to him.
“He called me and asked, ‘Is there any space for Sly in Planet Hollywood?’” Schwarzenegger said. It was an unusual proposal, but Schwarzenegger was open to it. “We made it work,” he said.
This business partnership brought them closer. Stallone officially joined the Planet Hollywood venture, along with other stars like Bruce Willis, Whoopi Goldberg, and Chuck Norris. The restaurant chain quickly gained global attention, and with it, the tension between Schwarzenegger and Stallone began to fade.
Looking back, both actors have come to appreciate how their rivalry actually pushed them to work harder. In a joint interview for ‘TMZ Presents: Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons’ earlier this year, Stallone openly admitted that Schwarzenegger’s arrival in Hollywood gave him the spark he needed.
“When I saw him, it was like – bang – finally someone who could keep me on my toes. He was competition, and I needed that,” Stallone said.
Schwarzenegger agreed, adding, “He motivated me to keep improving. We drove each other to be better.”
Since burying the hatchet, the two have not only appeared together in films like ‘Escape Plan’ and ‘The Expendables’ series but have also formed a genuine friendship.
These days, Schwarzenegger is busier than ever. Season 2 of his Netflix action-comedy ‘Fubar’ just premiered on June 12. And he’s set to take on a festive role in the upcoming holiday film ‘The Man with the Bag’, where he will play Santa Claus.
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