‘He had the body’: Sylvester Stallone claims former action rival Arnold Schwarzenegger ‘was superior’

Action stars were in a bitter professional feud before becoming close friends

Sylvester Stallone has reflected on his past rivalry with fellow action trailblazer Arnold Schwarzenegger and humbly claims that the Terminator star “was superior”.

Both actors were known for their roles in action films in the early stages of their careers, with Stallone leading the Rocky and Rambo franchises and Schwarzenegger being the star of the Terminator films.

During the 1980s in particular, working in the same film genre sparked a bitter feud between the film stars as they worked to outdo each other in their achievements.

However, in the recently released Netflix docuseries about Schwarzenegger’s life, Arnold, Stallone makes an admission about his former cinematic opponent’s skill, and how they were both working to redefine what an action film was.

“The Eighties was a very interesting time because the definitive ‘action guy’ had not really been formed yet,” Stallone, 76, recalled in the programme.

“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.”

Though when he starred in the first Rambo film, First Blood, in 1982, Stallone realised that action films could involve real physical action from the actors.

“You actually relied upon your body to tell the story,” he explained. “Dialogue was not necessary. I saw that there was an opportunity, ‘cause no one else was doing this… except some other guy from Austria, who doesn't need to say much.”

The actor was referring to Schwarzenegger, who began his career in the spotlight as a champion bodybuilder in Europe before taking on Hollywood.

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Getty)

Despite being up for similar roles, Stallone maintained that he and Schwarzenegger had “different styles of acting” – and gives the edge to the True Lies star.

“He was superior. He just had all the answers,” he said of Schwarzenegger. “He had the body. He had the strength. That was his character.”

The pair have long settled their issues and have been friends for decades, having starred in films such as Escape Plan and all three of the Expendables films together.

Stallone and Schwarzenegger have acknowledged how different their dynamic is today, compared to years ago, on several occasions.

Last year, Stallone described their past feud as being so extreme that they “couldn’t stand to be in the same galaxy”.

Arnold is streaming on Netflix now.