Sylvester Stallone has finally explained what brought the Stallone Schwarzenegger feud to an end — and the answer had nothing to do with a movie. Speaking on the November 5 episode of The Rest Is Entertainment, the Rocky star looked back on the rivalry that defined action cinema for two decades. He said it only faded when Arnold Schwarzenegger walked…
Sylvester Stallone has finally explained what brought the Stallone Schwarzenegger feud to an end — and the answer had nothing to do with a movie. Speaking on the November 5 episode of The Rest Is Entertainment, the Rocky star looked back on the rivalry that defined action cinema for two decades. He said it only faded when Arnold Schwarzenegger walked away from Hollywood to run for governor of California.
For years, the two men could barely stand to be in the same room. “We couldn’t get on the same stage together to make a presentation or a speech,” Stallone told hosts Marina Hyde and Richard Osman. “It wasn’t put to bed until like 20 years.” But when Schwarzenegger traded film sets for Sacramento in 2003, the competition lost its fuel. One of Hollywood’s most famous feuds quietly turned into one of its closest friendships.
Key Facts
- What happened: Sylvester Stallone revealed on The Rest Is Entertainment (November 5, 2026) what finally ended his 20-year feud with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- The turning point: Schwarzenegger leaving Hollywood to run for governor of California in 2003. He served two terms, until 2011.
- How long it lasted: About 20 years, starting at the 1977 Golden Globes and running through the 1980s and 1990s.
- Where they stand now: Close friends and frequent co-stars — Stallone says, “We’re good friends now. We’ve gotten mellow.”
How the Stallone Schwarzenegger Feud Began
The rivalry started in 1977, at the Golden Globes, where the two young actors were seated at the same table. Stallone had just broken out with Rocky. Schwarzenegger was the former Mr. Olympia turning heads after the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron. Neither man would play second fiddle. Hollywood spent the next two decades happily pitting them against each other.
Through the 1980s, the contest only grew fiercer. Stallone had Rocky and Rambo. Schwarzenegger answered with The Terminator, Predator, and Commando. Stallone later admitted how real the hostility was. “We were at each other’s throats, big time,” he told The Sunday Times Magazine in September 2026. “It wasn’t a joke. It was like life and death.”
Sylvester Stallone at San Diego Comic-Con in 2010. Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Stallone has said the two men needed each other to stay sharp. “It’s like when one fighter insults the other,” he told The Sunday Times. “He’s going to train so much to put a beating on the other. We needed each other, absolutely.”
The Prank That Became Hollywood Legend
No story sums up the feud better than Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. In 1992, Stallone starred in the comedy as a cop. His mother, played by Golden Girls star Estelle Getty, tags along on the job. The film flopped hard, earning just 4% on Rotten Tomatoes. Stallone still calls it one of his biggest career regrets.
Years later, Schwarzenegger admitted he had set the whole thing up. He read the script and thought it was terrible. Then he let it be known around town that he was keen to star in it. Stallone, hearing his rival wanted the part, rushed to grab it first. “It’s 100 percent true,” Schwarzenegger told The Hollywood Reporter. “In those days we did all kinds of crazy things to get ahead in our rivalry.”
Stallone saw the funny side eventually. “He’s quite clever,” he said of Schwarzenegger on The Jonathan Ross Show. Stallone had heard his rival was keen on the film, so he told his agent to grab it first.
What Finally Ended the Stallone Schwarzenegger Feud
So what actually ended it? According to Stallone, it was Schwarzenegger’s decision to leave the movie business behind. In 2003, Schwarzenegger ran for governor of California and won, serving two terms until 2011. Suddenly, the two men were no longer chasing the same roles or the same opening weekends.
“I said, enough of this. We’re not in competition,” Stallone recalled on the podcast. “He was not doing movies anymore. All right. Thank you very much for waking me up, lighting a fire under me. And he felt the same way.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The thaw had started a little earlier. Both men had invested in the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain alongside Bruce Willis. Soon they were flying around the world together to promote it. “When we both invested in Planet Hollywood, we started flying around the world together to promote it,” Schwarzenegger told The Graham Norton Show. “And we became fantastic friends.”
He made a cameo in Stallone’s The Expendables in 2010, then returned for the sequels and for Escape Plan in 2013. When Stallone lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Creed in 2016, Schwarzenegger spoke up for him in public. And in Netflix’s Arnold documentary in 2023, Stallone gave his old rival the ultimate compliment. He admitted Schwarzenegger had come out on top between them. “We came together and said this is silly,” he told Forbes that same year. “Let’s just all work together and we became really good friends.”
The Feud in 20 Years: A Timeline
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1977 | Stallone and Schwarzenegger are seated together at the Golden Globes. The rivalry begins. |
| 1977–1989 | The box-office war: Rocky and Rambo against The Terminator, Predator, and Commando. |
| 1991 | Both men invest in Planet Hollywood and start promoting it together around the world. |
| 1992 | Schwarzenegger baits Stallone into starring in the flop Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. |
| 2003 | Schwarzenegger is elected governor of California. The competition finally cools. |
| 2010 | Schwarzenegger cameos in Stallone’s The Expendables — their first big-screen team-up. |
| 2016 | Schwarzenegger publicly backs Stallone after his Oscar loss for Creed. |
| 2023 | Stallone admits in Netflix’s Arnold that Schwarzenegger came out on top. |
| 2026 | Stallone tells The Rest Is Entertainment exactly what ended the feud. |
Stallone vs. Schwarzenegger by the Numbers
| Sylvester Stallone | Arnold Schwarzenegger | |
|---|---|---|
| Breakout film | Rocky (1976) | Conan the Barbarian (1982) |
| Signature franchises | Rocky, Rambo | Terminator, Predator |
| Biggest worldwide hit | Rocky IV / Rambo: First Blood Part II (about $300 million each) | Terminator 2: Judgment Day (about $521 million) |
| Academy Award nominations | 3 (Rocky, Creed) | 0 |
| Golden Globe wins | Best Supporting Actor, Creed (2016) | New Star of the Year, Stay Hungry (1977) |
| Years as California governor | — | 2003–2011 |
| Films together | The Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 (2012), Escape Plan (2013), The Expendables 3 (2014) | |
Stallone and Schwarzenegger embrace at San Diego Comic-Con in 2012 — rivals turned close friends. Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
What’s Next for Sly and Arnold?
Stallone continues to lead the crime drama Tulsa King, which has been renewed for a fifth season. The podcast also covered his biggest career regrets and the roles he wishes he had taken. Action legends are still headlining sequels decades later. Nicolas Cage, for one, is returning as arms dealer Yuri Orlov in Lords of War. Cage is also playing NFL legend John Madden in an upcoming biopic.
Why Hollywood Still Cares About the Feud
The Stallone Schwarzenegger feud lasted because both men were genuinely great at the same job at the same time. The feud pushed each of them to train harder, pick bigger movies, and chase bigger openings. In the end, it also gave them something rare in Hollywood: a friendship built on twenty years of mutual respect.
As Stallone put it at PaleyFest in October, “We’re good friends now. We’ve gotten mellow.” After two decades at war, that might be the most surprising twist of all.
Sources
- Parade — Sylvester Stallone Reveals What Finally Ended His Decades-Long Feud With Arnold Schwarzenegger
- PrimeTimer — Sylvester Stallone Reveals What Finally Ended His 20-Year Feud With Arnold Schwarzenegger (reporting Entertainment Weekly)
- Best Life — Sylvester Stallone Only Took Flop Movie Role to Annoy Rival Arnold Schwarzenegger (reporting The Hollywood Reporter and Variety)
