In this FandomWire Video Essay, we explore the ultimate action rivalry, Arnold Schwarzenegger vs Sylvester Stallone.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger vs Sylvester Stallone
These… are action icons. Although they’re best known for their on-screen combat skills, their greatest battle was, arguably, against each other. A Hollywood feud between two of the most muscle-bound, testosterone-fueled stars to ever grace the silver screen. A rivalry that would involve hurled insults, accusations of war crimes, and an ingenious lie that would trick one of them into making the worst film of their career. And it all started at the 1977 Golden Globes.
But how did this decades-spanning rivalry grow to the mythic proportions it ultimately reached? A feud so iconic and embedded in the culture of the action genre that it has its own Wikipedia page. And how did it ultimately affect the careers of those involved? Well, oil up your biceps and bounce your pecs as we examine the complicated history of the ULTIMATE action rivalry.
1977 was a big year for both Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Each of the young actors were up for a Golden Globe, Stallone for Best Screenplay, and Best Actor in a Drama Film for Rocky. And Schwarzenneger for Best New Star of the Year for his role in Stay Hungry, where he acted alongside Jeff Bridges and Sally Field. While Rocky did go on to win Best Motion Picture in the Drama category, arguably the largest award of the evening, Stallone did not win for either of his two nominations, while Schwarzenneger did.
Arnold allegedly mocked, laughed, and poked fun at Stallone for his losses, prompting the Rocky star to hurl a large, table-top centerpiece bouquet of flowers at the Austrian. This single night of a shared table ignited what would become a long-lasting disdain for one another that would ultimately steer the trajectory of their careers for years to come.
The 80s are arguably the greatest decade for action, and that’s largely thanks to the efforts of these two titans of the industry. While Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Jackie Chan, and others would make major waves in the genre through the 90s, it was Stallone and Schwarzenneger who led the way, blazing a trail of bullets and blood through their films, each in an effort to be regarded as the best at what they do, while simultaneously one-upping the other.
When examining the two actor’s filmographies side by side, you can almost track the rivalry through the back-and-forth escalation of their creative decision-making. This becomes undeniably clear with 1985’s Rambo: First Blood Part 2. The sequel was a vast departure from its predecessor. While First Blood was a grounded and fairly realistic story of a veteran on the run from a crooked, small-town police force, the follow-up was an all-out action extravaganza, dropping Rambo behind enemy lines to act as a one-man army and rescue prisoners from a POW camp.
While the original had its fair share of action, at its core, it was a deeper story examining the mistreatment of Vietnam Veterans and the difficulties they faced readapting to a normal life in society. The climax isn’t a gunfight, but an emotional monologue that sees Stallone break down into tears while recounting the horrors of war he’s personally experienced. It sheds light on real-world issues while showcasing Stallone’s talents as a dramatic actor in the same way Rocky had in 1976. But following Schwarzenegger’s success in Conan the Barbarian and James Cameran’s The Terminator, Stallone leaned into the action realm, pivoting away from the subtle and dramatic works he’d been doing. For Rambo 2 it meant bigger guns, more bullets and larger biceps. This trend would continue through the rest of the Rambo franchise, and Arnold took notice.
In 1988 Schwarzenneger decided to try his hand in the realm of comedy with Twins, where he played opposite Danny Devito as a pair of fraternal twins in search of their father. During one scene, Schwarzenneger is walking by a large movie poster depicting Stallone’s Rambo Part III. He stops, compares his bicep to that of Stallones, before laughing and waving him off dismissively.
Stallone countered a year later in Tango and Cash. As the two title characters, played by Stallone and Kurt Russell, walk through a prison, they come in contact with an inmate behind cell bars. The inmate’s jaw is excessively pronounced, resembling an exaggerated caricature of Schwarzenegger’s iconic jawline. Sly sarcastically declares, “I loved you in Conan the Barbarian!” referencing the 1982 epic that effectively launched Schwarzenegger’s career, before slamming the man’s head against the bars and causing him to bleed.
That wasn’t the first time Stallone had one-upped a character with striking similarities to his action rival. Dolph Lungrin’s Ivan Drago from Rocky 4, is a large, muscular fighter with a thick accent and it’s been suggested that the character’s resemblance to Schwarzenegger may have been intentional. At one point, a reporter even accuses Drago of using steroids in order to gain his large physique and incredible strength. These days, Schwarzenegger has been incredibly open about his use of the drug, saying during one interview with ABC News that he has “no regrets,” and that his doctor was aware of and monitoring everything.
The back and forth of insults and aggression continued for years, both on the screen and off of it. In one particularly harsh article published by The News of the World in 1988, it’s suggested that Schwarzenegger was a closeted Nazi, with a strong admiration for Adolf Hitler. The piece goes so far as to claim that Arnold’s father Gustav would personally round up Jewish people and usher them to concentration camps. The journalist responsible for the article reportedly used none other than Sylvester Stallone as a source of information. Just two years after the article was published, it was revealed that Arnold’s father did, indeed, share ties to the Nazi party. However, there was no evidence to suggest that he’d participated in war crimes, and Arnold himself has fervently condemned his father’s actions.
It was in the 1990s that Schwarzenegger seemed to be pulling ahead, ultimately taking the lead in the race to become the ultimate action star. His movies were making more money, he was working with bigger filmmakers, and was successfully branching into the comedy and sci-fi realms with hits like Kindergarten Cop, Total Recall, and Terminator 2. Stallone was trying to keep up, dipping his toes into science fiction, as well, with movies like Demolition Man and Judge Dredd. However, neither of those films managed to reach the box office success of Total Recall, let alone Terminator 2 which broke numerous box office records, including taking the record for the highest opening for an R-rated movie at the time.
But it was Stallone’s attempt at comedy that really backfired, and the blame for that can fall largely on his long-time action rival. During one interview Sly put it bluntly, saying, “I made some truly awful movies. ‘Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot’ was the worst.”
The film, which co-starred Estelle Getty, tells the story of a police sergeant whose meddling mother becomes entangled in a murder investigation. With a budget of 45 Million, the movie pulled in a meager 28.4 million at the domestic box office and holds a measly 14 percent on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this recording. Acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert called it “Moronic beyond comprehension” and “an exercise in desperation.”
The flop was exactly what Schwarzenegger had hoped for. While speaking with Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he revealed that the script had originally been brought to him as he’d expressed an interest in doing more comedic roles. But after reading the script, he’d come to the conclusion that… in his own words, “it was a piece of S%!t” Schwarzenegger goes on to say that during a discussion with Stallone later on, he referred to the film’s concept as brilliant and expressed a significant interest in playing the lead part. With a fierce rivalry still in play, Stallone did whatever he could to get the role, effectively stealing it out from under Schwarzenegger in the process… or so he thought.
But something else happened in the 90’s. Maybe it was that the two actors were aging, and with that age gaining a level of maturity. Or maybe it was that they’d each achieved unfathomable levels of success. But somewhere along the way, the two decided to put the bad blood behind them. The two icons who had previously been self-declared arch-enemies, set the hatred aside and eventually became friends.
During one scene in the self-aware and satirical action comedy Last Action Hero, a cardboard cut out of Terminator 2 appears in a video store depicting Sylvester Stallone as the film’s lead, to which Schwarzenegger comments, “He’s fantastic. It’s his best performance ever.”
It’s a small line in one of Arnold’s less extravagant films, but still. That type of open admiration and complimentary dialogue would have never made it into a Schwarzenegger film in the 80s and its inclusion is a clear indicator of a relationship in repair.
In recent years, Schwarzenegger has had a minor recurring role in Stallone’s Expendables franchise and in 2013, the two starred alongside each other for the first time in the action thriller Escape Plan. The movie underperformed at the box office and received a mixed reception from critics and general audiences, but it was a monumental moment for two icons of the genre to co-star in a movie years after their hatred for one another had defined their careers.
Of course, Schwarzenneger’s career would eventually shift away from acting as he threw his hat into the political arena by running for Governor of California. A race he would eventually win and a position he would hold for years. In 2005, Stallone donated $15,000 dollars to Arnold’s campaign fund and was invited to attend several inaugurations throughout Arnold’s reign as Governator.
These days, the two can laugh about their behavior and chalk it up to their competitive nature. But for a time… the two truly were nemesis, working against one another with a disdain that spanned years and irrevocably altered their careers.
Who do you think won the Action Star rivalry? What’s your favorite movie from each of the stars? Let us know in the comments. And if you’re enjoying our content be sure to like and subscribe. And hit that notification bell so you never miss a video. Asta la vista, baby.
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