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Highlights
- Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s epic rivalry saw them compete over everything, from movie salaries to who could land the best roles.
- The rivalry reached new heights when Ivan Drago in Stallone’s “Rocky IV” seemed eerily inspired by Schwarzenegger, causing tension on set.
- Despite the hatred, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger found common ground as they aged and became close friends, even sharing the screen in films.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were rivals for decades while they were at the height of their acting careers. Both action stars often competed in their films, regarding box office earnings and how many more people each would kill in their films. Apart from competing, Stallone and Schwarzenegger even took shots at each other during interviews, cementing their rivalry throughout the ’80s and ’90s when they were at the top of their game.
Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s rivalry got so bad during this era that they would never think of appearing in the same movies together, regardless of how much it would benefit them both as blockbuster favorites. Schwarzenegger even admitted their heated rivalry got to a point where they tried to derail each other’s acting careers.
In the following, we examine how Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone’s iconic feud made a cameo in one of Sylvester Stallone’s $300 million movies, Rocky IV. We also discuss why the two actors were even in a feud and how Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone became friends.
Was Rocky IV’s Villain, Ivan Drago, Based Off Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Sylvester Stallone made history with his film, Rocky, which he wrote and starred in 1976. In 1977, Rocky became the second highest-grossing film after Star Wars, bringing in a whopping $225 million at the box office. By the time Stallone was making Rocky IV, in the early 1980s, his rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger had hit its peak.
So, when Rocky IV‘s villain, Ivan Drogo, was cast, many fans saw a striking resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Drago actor, Dolph Lundgren, rocked short spiky blonde hair similar to Schwarzenegger’s hairstyle at the time. And his strange Russian accent throughout Rocky IV was eerily similar to Schwarzenegger’s thick Austrian accent.
Lundgren even gained eight pounds of muscle to play the movie’s villain, which was great for the film but bad for Stallone. The action star reportedly asked Lundgren not to pull his punches in some of the films for
Rocky IV
. In one scene, Lundgren punched Stallone so hard that it landed him in hospital for eight days.
Despite making $300 million, the Rocky IV movie was panned by critics as one of the worst installments in the franchise. It currently has a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If Arnold Schwarzenegger had been cast as the villain in the movie, it would have helped its rating, but due to Sylvester Stallone’s hate for the Terminator star, that casting probably would never have happened.
The Truth About Arnold Schwarzenegger And Sylvester Stalone’s Feud
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, both Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were the most sought-after action stars in Hollywood. Which meant they were often compared to each other. While this was common in the acting world, it led to the two stars disliking each other outside their movies. Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s rivalry reared its head in public during the 1977 Golden Globes when Stallone and Schwarzenegger were seated next to each other.
During the awards ceremony, Sylvester Stallone was nominated for six awards; however, he only took home one of them. In comparison, Schwarzenegger took home the New Star Award that night. According to the Rambo star, Schwarzenegger laughed and made jokes at Stallone each time he lost out to another actor. When Stallone finally won one of the nominations for Best Action Picture – Drama, he threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenneger, beginning their years-long feud.
Arnold Schwarzenneger and Sylvester Stallone were both involved with Danish actress, Brigitte Nielsen. Schwarzenneger admitted to having an affair with Nielsen while they were filming 1985’s
Red Sonja
, while Schwarzenneger was in a relationship with Maria Shriver. Sylvester Stallone later married Brigitte Nielsen that same year in December 1985, but they went on to divorce in July 1987.
From then on, Stallone and Schwarzenegger would throw shots at each other during interviews. Schwarzenegger even duped Stallone into taking one of the worst film roles of his career. He was offered the starring role in the comedy Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot but turned it down knowing Stallone would campaign to get it. And he did. The film turned out to be a mess as Schwarzenegger had predicted. It has a 21% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, one of Sylvester Stallone’s worst films of his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger stated …
“We were movie rivals, but we took the competitiveness to the extreme – we each had to have the best body, we had to kill more people in our films, and we had to have the biggest guns.”
How Sylvester Stalone And Arnold Schwarzenegger Became Friends
While Sylverster Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were definitely not friends at the prime of their careers. After they both expanded into other business ventures outside of making films, they found they had a lot in common. In 1991, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone found themselves in the same business as the faces of Planet Hollywood; a string of popular restaurants.
Because of this venture, the two former rivals found themselves traveling together to do promotions, and they realized they had a lot in common. Stallone admitted to Forbes,
“Off-screen we were still competitive and that was not a healthy thing at all, but we’ve become really good friends.”
Sylvester Stallone even attended Arnold Schwarzenegger’s inauguration as California governor. Before long, the duo agreed to do a movie together for the first time in history. 2013’s Expendables and Escape Plan saw Schwarzenegger and Stallone share screen time even though Arnold’s role was only a cameo. Apart from appearing in movies together, the two have become very good friends.
Schwarzenegger said about his former rival, “He is a great human being, and we are now inseparable.” Also in a June 2023, interview, Stallone showered Schwarzenegger with praise. “He just had all the answers. He had the body. He had the strength. That was his character.”
