Arnold Schwarzenegger says Sylvester Stallone 'motivated' his rise as action hero

Hollywood veteran Sylvester Stallone recently spoke about his bitter rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 80s. Both Stallone and Schwarzenegger remained stern competitors in the 80s. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a mark with films like Commando (1985) and Predator (1987). Meanwhile, Stallone appeared in franchises such as Rambo and Rocky. 

Stallone appeared in the OTT docuseries for Schwarzenegger titled Arnold. In the docuseries, Sylvester said that the archetype of the ‘action guy’ was being fleshed out, and there was no definition for it. The Rocky Balboa actor then said that it was with First Blood in 1982 that action movies saw a pivotal shift. Action sequences became body-centric, and dialogue became redundant. 

“The ’80s was a very interesting time because the definitive ‘action guy’ had not really been formed yet,” said Sylvester. “You actually relied upon your body to tell the story. Dialogue was not necessary. I saw that there was an opportunity, ’cause no one else was doing this,” said the Rambo III actor. Subsequently, Arnold himself commented on their dynamic. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger says Sylvester Stallone compelled him to improvise 

(Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone together | Image: WembleyDream/Twitter)

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger continued to maintain a competitive outlook towards each other until the 2000s. He said that whenever Stallone did films like Rambo, he had to play his cards differently and adapt accordingly. In the end, the Terminator actor admitted that without Stallone pushing the envelope, he would not have found the motivation to work in the films he appeared in, in the 80s. 

“Without Stallone, I maybe wouldn’t have been as motivated in the ’80s to do the kind of movies that I did and to work as hard as I did. I’m a competitive person,” concluded the Conan the Barbarian star. Eventually, Stallone and Schwarzenegger ended up working together in certain films as well. Their unlikely collaboration first occurred in The Expendables (2010), in which Hollywood legends such as Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Terry  Crews, and Randy Couture teamed up. Apart from The Expendables franchise, they also appeared together in Escape Plan (2013).