When did Stallone and Schwarzenegger bury the hatchet?

For twenty years, the two biggest action stars of the 1980s waged a war of egos in Hollywood. Sly now talks about how their rivalry finally came to an end.

They were the two most popular action heroes of their time.

And between Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, there was more than competition: a real rivalry! In the 1980s, the two actors reigned over action cinema and engaged in a fierce competition that lasted almost twenty years. To the point that it was impossible for them to be reunited publicly. Podcast guest The Rest Is EntertainmentStallone returned to this long quarrel:

“We couldn’t even get on the same stage together, to give a presentation or give a speech or whatever. It was not possible. And it only settled after twenty years!“

So where did the trigger come from?

In 2003, when Schwarzenegger decided to put his Hollywood career on hold to run for governor of California, the competition came to a grinding halt. Seeing his old rival leave his playground, Stallone decided to turn the page:

“I said to myself: enough is enough now… We are no longer in competition. He no longer made films. So thank you Arnold for keeping me alert all these years, for giving me a boost and a desire to fight. And he feels the same way, I think.“

Reconciliation came to fruition a few years later, as Schwarzenegger’s term as governor was coming to an end. In 2010, he agreed to make an appearance in Expendables: Special Unitthe action film written and directed by Stallone. The two men would then share the poster ofExpendables 2 (2012), from Escape (2013) andExpendables 3 (2014). Today, the two former rivals have even become good friends.