“He was superior”: Sylvester Stallone praises 80s rival Arnold Schwarzenegger

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are about to embrace a blooming bromance after years of their rivalry. Netflix released a three-part docu-series, Arnold, based on the life and career of Schwarzenegger on June 7, 2023. The docu-series followed the release of the high-octane drama, FUBAR.

Sylvester also made an appearance on Arnold as himself and admitted that Schwarzenegger was a better action hero among the two. The two men dominated the silver screen during the 1980s and 1990s and dazzled the viewers with their larger-than-life characters. While their rivalry was initially fueled by professional competition, it recently managed to bloom into a genuine friendship.

Ahead of the Netflix documentary, Sylvester confessed to Indie Wire:

"He (Schwarzenegger) was superior. He just had all the answers. He had the body. He had the strength. That was his character.”

The Rocky star said that he had to get his "a** kicked multiple times," but noted that Arnold never got hurt. He said that he told Schwarzenegger that he could go fight a dragon and come back with a Band-Aid.

Arnold is produced by Allen Hughes and directed by Lesley Chilcot who also worked on An Inconvenient Truth.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone speak about how their healthy competition helped them

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Schwarzenegger and Stallone engaged in a box office battle, each eyeing the title of the ultimate action star.

Schwarzenegger's charismatic performances in the hits including The Terminator and Total Recall solidified his status as a crowd-favorite. Stallone, on the other hand, countered with memorable roles in the Rambo series and the Rocky franchise.

The two joined forces in 2010 and starred together in The Expendables movies. The films featured veteran actors such as Jason Statham, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, and Terry Crews. Arnold and Sylvester also worked together in 2013's film Escape Plan.

The former California governor told Indie Wire that it was the healthy competition that made him strive harder at his job and deliver better films. He said that every time Sylvester came up with a film like Rambo II, the former had to figure out a way to outdo that.

He noted that without Stallone, he might not have been as motivated to make the kind of movies he made in the '80s and to work as hard as he did. Schwarzenegger stated that he did all this because he was a competitive person.

Stallone too went on to praise Arnold Schwarzenegger's talent in the action genre and beyond. He told the Indie Wire that the '80s were a very interesting time as the "definitive action guy" hadn't really been formed. The Creed actor added:

“Up until that time, action was a car chase like Bullitt or The French Connection, and a film all about intellect and innuendo and verbal this and verbal that.”

Sylvester noted that they relied on their body to tell the story and that dialogue wasn't always necessary. He said that it was an opportunity for him since no one else was doing it, except "some other guy from Austria, who doesn’t need to say much.”

The rivalry between Schwarzenegger and Stallone remains a defining chapter in the history of action cinema. Their commitment to physical fitness and dedication to their craft inspired many worldwide, thus, establishing a lasting legacy.

Watch never-seen-before footage of Schwarzenegger's life and career as an actor and politician on Netflix's Arnold.