Quick summary
- Sylvester Stallone has spoken about his long feud with Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, as reported by Collider on 11 November.
- He says the rivalry “wasn’t put to bed until 20 years later”.
- Stallone describes the contest as “very contentious” and says he enjoyed it.
- The two eventually made four films together, including Escape Plan in 2013, according to Collider.
- Stallone, 80, is also promoting his memoir The Steps and starring in Tulsa King.
Sylvester Stallone has given his most candid account in years of the rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger that shaped 1980s action cinema. Speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, he said the feud lasted two decades, and that he rather liked the fight while it lasted, Collider reports.
What Stallone said about the feud
Stallone told the podcast the pair were “very confrontational” because both had arrived at the start of a new genre and each wanted to run it. By his account the tension did not ease quickly. The rivalry “wasn’t put to bed until 20 years later”, he said.
Collider notes that the feud reportedly lasted until Schwarzenegger ran for governor of California. That timing comes from the outlet’s own summary rather than from Stallone, so treat it as an approximate marker.
One story stood out. Stallone recalled sitting at the Golden Globes while Schwarzenegger stared at him, a look he called “stink eye”. His reaction, he said, was “Okay, all right. I got it, pal.” Then, he added, Schwarzenegger won.
Why action films mattered to him
Stallone has often been linked to boxing films, and he told the podcast he never set out to be an action star. After First Blood, he said, he saw the form differently. Done properly, he argued, action cinema works as modern mythology, in the tradition of The Iliad, The Odyssey, Hercules and Achilles.
He says he saw Schwarzenegger coming. “I could tell right away he’s going to be a problem,” he said.
Rambo against Commando
The competition played out in the films themselves. “So I do Rambo, he does Commando, and it went back and forth, back and forth, on and off screen,” Stallone said. “It was very contentious, trust me. Which I enjoyed.”
Collider argues that the rivalry pushed both men to do some of their best work, a view the outlet presents as hindsight. The feud eventually gave way to collaboration. According to Collider, the pair appeared in four movies together, with Escape Plan in 2013 the one in which they shared top billing.
A busy week for Stallone
The interview lands as Stallone stays in the headlines for other reasons. Collider says he is dominating streaming charts with the fourth season of Taylor Sheridan’s Tulsa King. It adds that his daughter, Scarlet Rose Stallone, has been promoted to series regular for season five. Some online critics called that nepotism. Stallone answered bluntly, saying a parent who has not done “a little nepotism” does not care about their children.
He has also been talking about his career more broadly. In an interview with Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB, Newstalk ZB reports, Stallone discussed his memoir The Steps, released a couple of months ago. He said that Rocky Balboa drew on his own feelings of isolation and dismissal as a child, and that the fourth Rocky film was when he realised audiences were applying the story to their own lives.
That origin story is now on screen as well. Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, which The HoloFiles recaps in an ending explainer, follows Stallone’s early struggles in New York, his move to Los Angeles and the producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler. It also covers the fight between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner that inspired the Rocky screenplay. For more, see our earlier report on how Stallone’s I Play Rocky faces an Oscar category fight, or browse our Movies coverage.
What happens next
No new joint project with Schwarzenegger has been announced in the sources reviewed. The next confirmed milestones are on the television side: Tulsa King season four is still streaming, and season five has a series regular lined up in Scarlet Rose Stallone. Fans can find more of Stallone’s own account of his career in The Steps. More on him and his peers is collected on our Celebrities page.
Frequently asked questions
How long did the Stallone and Schwarzenegger rivalry last?
Stallone says it “wasn’t put to bed until 20 years later”. Collider reports it lasted until Schwarzenegger ran for governor of California.
Which films did they make together?
Collider says they appeared in four movies together, including 2013’s Escape Plan, where they were co-leads.
Where did Stallone make these comments?
He spoke on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, according to Collider.
What is Stallone’s memoir called?
It is called The Steps and was released a couple of months ago, according to Newstalk ZB.
