Arnold Schwarzenegger Remembers ‘Stupid Stuff’ He and Sylvester Stallone Competed Over: ‘Who Has More Muscle?’

Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals the “stupid things” he and Sylvester Stallone did in the name of competition.

In Stallone’s new Netflix documentary Cunningthe bodybuilder-actor-politician sits down to discuss how two movie stars would “fight” over who could outdo the other on and off screen during the 1980s and ’90s.

“We were like little kids,” says Schwarzenegger, 76. “Who uses bigger knives? Who wields the biggest weapon and holds it in one hand? Who has more muscle, who has more muscle definition, who has less body fat?”

Six years after the success of Stallone who won an Oscar overnight Rockywhich he wrote and starred in, Stallone, 77, invented another character to inspire the hit film franchise: lone wolf Vietnam War veteran John Rambo, in 1982. First blood.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Turns Down Sylvester Stallone’s Yacht Invitation: ‘I Can Have My Own’ (Exclusive)

How Stallone became synonymous with explosive, fast-paced action blockbusters, as critic Wesley Morris explains in Cunning“Arnold Schwarzenegger was his only competition.”

“Sly, suddenly with Rambo, stepped into my arena,” Schwarzenegger says in the documentary about Stallone’s transition to action-packed films. Terminator and Commando.

“Suddenly, his muscles were torn and everyone else’s [was] talking about his body,” he recalls. “And of course that created competition.”

But Schwarzenegger adds, “Now we look back and laugh about the whole thing.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in 2015. Todd Williamson/Getty

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Stallone and Schwarzenegger eventually starred together in another franchise-launching action film in 2010. The Expendables, and they talked about “going crazy and going crazy” as friends. But in 2021, Stallone revealed that the two “really, truly hated each other” in their earlier days.

“We couldn’t stand to be in the same galaxy together for a while,” Stallone said on a British talk show The Jonathan Ross Showaccording to Insider.

The pair’s rivalry was also a topic of conversation in Arnold, Schwarzenegger’s three-part documentary, released in May. “There was only room for one of us,” Stallone recalled in an interview for the documentary series.

“He was superior. He just had all the answers,” he continued. “He had the body. He had the strength. That was his character.” Stallone even admitted that if he had to declare a winner between the two, it would be Schwarzenegger. “He wanted to be number one… Unfortunately, he succeeded.”

IN Cunning, however, Schwarzenegger has a different recollection of their period dueling action heroes. “I was always behind Sly, I was always one step behind,” he said True lies says the star about his current friend. “He was always making more profit, then a year later I was making the same profit, but by that time he was making more profit again.”

Sylvester Stallone in the movie “Sly”.

Rob DeMartin/Netflix

The biggest revelations from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new book: From damage repair to shock surgery

Earlier this month in a discussion about his book Be Useful: Seven Tools for LifeSchwarzenegger told PEOPLE that his relationship with Stallone these days is “fantastic.”

“I really admire him. I love him. He’s just a different person than me. He’s much more raw, he’s much more vulnerable and in touch with his emotions… That makes him good at acting, because he feels things immediately.”

Cunningdirected by Thom Zimny, premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Now streaming on Netflix.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education