For two decades, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were the twin titans of Hollywood’s action era — icons of strength, charisma, and blockbuster spectacle. But behind the scenes of Rocky and Terminator, the two stars were embroiled in a rivalry so intense that Stallone now admits, “It wasn’t competition — it was war.”
In a candid interview for the Netflix documentary Sly, Stallone opened up about the 20-year feud that strained their relationship and shadowed much of their careers.
“He Wanted My Blood — and I Wanted His”
The conflict began in the mid-1980s, when both actors were at the peak of their fame. Stallone had conquered the box office with Rocky IV and Rambo: First Blood Part II, while Schwarzenegger was redefining action cinema with The Terminator and Predator.
“It started with ego,” Stallone confessed. “We were both trying to be number one. He’d open a movie; I’d have to open a bigger one. He’d kill ten guys; I’d kill twenty. If he carried a machine gun, I wanted a tank.”
The rivalry extended beyond the screen, with both men trading jabs at award shows and exchanging gossip through agents. “We hated each other,” Stallone said. “It got to the point where we couldn’t even be in the same room without measuring whose biceps looked bigger.”
The Prank That Crossed the Line
The feud reached a peak in 1992 when Schwarzenegger reportedly tricked Stallone into taking a role in the critically panned comedy Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.
“I heard he wanted the script,” Stallone laughed. “So I jumped on it first — big mistake. Turns out he only pretended to be interested just to make me take it. That’s when I realized I’d been played.”
Schwarzenegger later confirmed the prank in interviews, joking, “I knew it would be bad. It worked perfectly.” For Stallone, however, it marked a breaking point. “After that, we didn’t talk for years. I respected him as a competitor — but I couldn’t stand him as a person.”
“It Took a Funeral to End It”
The thaw came unexpectedly in the early 2000s at the funeral of a mutual friend and producer. “We saw each other there, and it was like — what are we doing?” Stallone recalled. “All that time wasted trying to beat each other instead of realizing we were part of something bigger.”
From that moment, rivalry softened into respect — and eventually, collaboration. Schwarzenegger later invited Stallone to join The Expendables films, bringing both men together on screen for the first time.
“When I called him about The Expendables 2, he said, ‘You’re not trying to kill me again, right?’” Stallone laughed. “I told him, ‘Not this time. Maybe just a few explosions.’”
Two Legends, One Legacy
Today, Stallone and Schwarzenegger often appear together publicly, joking about the past and reflecting on what their rivalry meant for Hollywood. “We were like two gladiators,” Schwarzenegger once said. “The audience loved it — but we nearly killed ourselves trying to live up to it.”
Stallone now sees the feud differently. “I think we pushed each other to be better. Without Arnold, there’s no Rambo the way you know him. Without me, maybe there’s no Terminator 2. Iron sharpens iron,” he said.
He paused, voice softening: “In the end, we were just two guys chasing the same dream — and learning it’s okay to share the spotlight.”
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