Sylvester Stallone says he and Arnold Schwarzenegger “really disliked each other”

Sylvester Stallone has discussed his former rivalry with the other premier tough guy of the film industry, Arnold Schwarzenegger, revealing that the pair used to “dislike each other immensely”. Notably, the pair enjoyed their most successful periods in the 1980s and 1990s, with the former starring in the Rambo and Rocky franchises and the latter in The Terminator films and Predator.

Now, in a new interview with Forbes, Stallone explained that the rivalry was fuelled by the fact that the pair were the two biggest action stars of the day, going as far as to claim that they pioneered a new genre. However, it’s all water under the bridge now, with them starring together in The Expendables series and The Escape Plan.

“We really disliked each other immensely because we were… this may sound a little vain, but I think we were pioneering a kind of genre at that time and it hasn’t been since really,” Stallone recalled.

Continuing: “So the competition, because it’s his nature, he is very competitive and so am I… and I just thought it actually helped, but off-screen we were still competitive and that was not a healthy thing at all, but we’ve become really good friends.”

Stallone has been busy as of late. Last week, the new show he is starring in, Tulsa King, debuted on Paramount, courtesy of Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. He’s also set to return as Stakar Ogord in the MCU film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is scheduled for release in May next year.

Schwarzenegger has also enjoyed an active period. Earlier this year, he started filming his first scripted TV series in the form of the Netflix drama Utap. He is also featured in the upcoming martial arts comedy Kung Fury 2 alongside Michael Fassbender.

Elsewhere, in July this year, actor Miriam Margolyes claimed that The Terminator star “deliberately” farted in her face on the set of 1999’s End of Days.