From rivals to friends: The evolution of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone's relationship

The rivalry between bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone is well-recognized by fans around the globe. It started in the golden era when the 7x Mr. Olympia stepped foot in Hollywood, and with his stardom in the bodybuilding industry, he became an instant hit. He posed as a direct challenger to Stallone, who was dominating the movie industry in 1977 with his back-to-back hits.

This fiasco marked the beginning of the rivalry between these two industry giants. In the 70s, the duo was known for their iconic roles in the famous Terminator and Rocky movie franchises. This took their battle to an extreme level, where both tried to "derail" each other's careers. In an interview on The Graham Norton Show, Schwarzenegger commented:

"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. It got out of control, and we tried to derail each other."

The industry giants often threw verbal jabs at each other in the 80s. Stallone even said:

"We couldn’t stand being in the same galaxy, even our DNA hated each other."

To this, the bodybuilding legend replied:

"I'd be angry at hearing my name mentioned in the same breath as Stallone’s. Stallone uses body doubles for some of the close-ups in his movies. I don’t."

The feud between these two continued for years, and they "attacked" each other throughout that time.

But something very unexpected happened at the 43rd Cannes Film Festival in the 90s. The iconic rivals were seen together dancing and burying the hatched once and for all. This was just the beginning of a legendary friendship.

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The beginning of a new era in Schwarzenegger vs. Stallone rivalry

In 1991, Schwarzenegger and Stallone partnered up with Bruce Will and launched the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain. The project was a huge success, making these giants the face of the project.

After their success, the duo often appeared together at various events. This is not all there is to it. Stallone lent his support to Schwarzenegger when he ran for governor elections in 2003 in California.

After taking small steps toward their friendship, both giants did a movie together in 2010. This was the first time these two shared the screen in their careers. Schwarzenegger's cameo in The Expendables set fans ablaze and marked another milestone in burying the rivalry.

In 2013, they teamed up for the movie The Escape Plan and ended their decades-long feud.

Since then, these giants of the industry have often been seen spending time together. Stallone even invited Schwarzenegger to his reality show, The Family Stallone. In the episode, the bodybuilding legend made a startling revelation. He said:

"Even though we were very adversarial when we were younger because we were competitive, it became something we realized we’re incredibly alike. Cut from the same cloth, and now I love the guy."

Now the duo's friendship is in a great place, and they often share each other's posts on their social media handles. Recently, Schwarzenegger wished Sly on his birthday and called him a "champion" and a "legend." He concluded and wrote:

"You inspire me and billions of people around the world."

After decades of going after each other barbarically, the duo understood that there was no benefit in doing so and ended their feud. Now these two Hollywood sensations have developed deep friendship and love for each other.