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Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s rivalry from back in the 80s and 90s has been as famous as their die-hard friendship that followed afterward, if not more. During the time that the duo was some of the biggest box-office draws, not only did their competition with each other grow but it also ended up invading almost every aspect of their career with each of them never leaving a chance to stifle the other at every possible opportunity.
In fact, their rivalry grew to the point where Stallone was even willing to financially help Schwarzenegger’s rival just to help him beat the seven-time Mr. Olympia title winner in the legal battle enforced by theTerminatorstar.
Also Read:Arnold Schwarzenegger Nearly Played Robocop Instead of Peter Weller – Sylvester Stallone and 6 Other Actors Who Could’ve Done a Better Job
Sylvester Stallone Financially Helped The Journalist That Arnold Schwarzenegger Had Sued
Also Read:“We are now inseparable”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Admits Trying to “Derail” Sylvester Stallone Until One Joint Venture Put Legendary Rivalry to Rest
As shared by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 2012,Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, it all started at the 1976 Golden Globes when he snubbed Sylvester Stallone to win the award. However, theRockystar ended up winning at something else as he started making three million at the box office the following year while theTerminatorstar was stuck at one million only.
This had Schwarzenegger looking at Stallone as the antagonist of his story, and thus, he started ‘bad-mouthing’ the latter in front of the media. Since theRambostar simply couldn’t sit back and watch his rival tarnish his public image, he not only started criticizing thePredatoractor’s physique and style in public but took it to a whole new level:
“In fact, he’d escalated the fight by secretly feeding negative stories about me to the media,” Arnie revealed in his book. “For a while, he even paid the legal bills for a British journalist whom I’d sued for libel.”
Looking back, irrespective of all that had happened in the past, Arnold Schwarzenegger does not blame Sylvester Stallone in the long run because of the fact that he himself antagonized his now best friend at nearly every turn–be it in his professional career or his personal life.
Also Read:“Their animosity finally wore away”: A Burger Joint Made Sylvester Stallone Abandon Notorious Arnold Schwarzenegger Rivalry
Arnold Schwarzenegger Nearly Destroyed His Career Over Sylvester Stallone Rivalry
WhileSylvester Stallonehelping Arnold Schwarzenegger’s rival financially was a whole new level of revenge, it didn’t stop there. In fact, the latter nearly destroyed his career just because his second installment from theTerminatorfranchise saw him kill fewer people than the initial one since he was supposed to be the protagonist in this one.
Speaking with a sold-out crowd at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, theTrue Liesactor shared the same (viaInsider).
“At the beginning I was suspicious,”Schwarzenegger said of becoming a protagonist.“I said, ‘What do you mean a good terminator?’ I was killing 68 people in the first one. I said, ‘In the second one, I have to kill 150.’ I said ‘I got to outdo Stallone.'”
However, directorJames Cameronwasn’t willing to give in since they couldn’t show the same story repeatedly.
“I said, ‘Remember my whole mission is I gotta be No. 1 in killing the amount of people,'” Schwarzenegger said before Cameron reeled him in. “He says, ‘Arnold, stop it. You’re a very sick guy. I am gonna make sure that in ‘Terminator 2,’ you’re not gonna kill one single person. I said, ‘Well, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. How can we do ‘Terminator 2’ without me killing nobody?'”
In the end,Arnold Schwarzeneggerended up agreeing, andTerminator 2: Judgement Daywent on to become a milestone in his career, further boosting it and granting him an edge over the others.
As for his bad blood with Sylvester Stallone: that ended up dissolving as well when both the actors realized how silly and childish they were being and decided to work together. Just like that came about their impeccable friendship, which is widely regarded as one of the most famous bromances in the entertainment industry to date!
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
