Sylvester Stallone called Arnold Schwarzenegger an “excellent” action star.
the two actors had a burning rivalry.
While Schwarzenegger was in The Terminator, Commando, and Predator, Stallone was making a name for himself with Rocky and Rambo in the 80s.
But now that the two aren’t competing every year for top box office success, Stallone insists the feud is over.
In fact, during an interview with IndieWire, the Expendables actor even called the Austrian an “excellent” action star.
Stallone said that when the 80s rolled around, they finally replaced car chasing with humans in a genre that Schwarzenegger thrived on.
“You actually relied on your body to tell the story,” Stallone said, admiring Schwarzenegger’s physical approach to filmmaking.
“Dialogue was not needed. I saw that there was an opportunity, because no one else was doing it, except for some other guy from Austria who didn’t have to say much… He was better.
“He had all the answers. He had a body. He had strength. That was his character.”
Stallone described Schwarzenegger’s impressive physique, which allowed him to get injured and continue filming while the other actors had to bow out gracefully. “I had to **kick my ass all the time, while Arnold was never really hurt,” he said.
“And I’m like, ‘Arnold, you could go fight the dragon and you’d come back with a Band-Aid.’
The former governor of California admitted that every time Stallone shoots another blockbuster, he always has to figure out how to “surpass it.”
“Without Stallone, I might not have been as motivated in the 80s to do films like me and work as hard as I do. I am a competitive person,” he told the publication.
In an interview with Forbes, Schwarzenegger said that although their rivalry was shown behind the scenes, they had reformed by the time the ’90s rolled around.
“[I] remember that Sly [Stallone] had a lot of respect for me and my films, and I also respected his performances, his talent and his films,” he said.
“But he just saw the enemy in me only in his little vision, and I saw the enemy in him, and I had to get rid of him, and he had to get rid of me, that’s all. Then, in the 90s, we got together and said, this is stupid, let’s just work together, and we became really good friends.”