Sylvester Stallone reveals why his 20-year feud with Arnold Schwarzenegger finally ended: ‘Enough of this’

Derek LawrenceThu, November 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone at ‘Creed’ premiere in 2015Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty ImagesKey Points -

Sylvester Stallone says his feud with Arnold Schwarzenegger lasted 20 years.

The actor revealed that the duo couldn’t even be on the same stage during the height of their beef.

Stallone shared why things were finally resolved between them.

Before Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, there was Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Stallone and Schwarzenegger were the premier action stars throughout the ’80s, but, before they joined forces for The Expendables franchise, there was major beef.

“We couldn’t get on the same stage together to make a presentation or a speech,” Stallone said on the Rest Is Entertainment podcast. “It wasn’t put to bed until like 20 years.”

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘The Expendables 3’Credit: Everett Collection

Stallone says it wasn’t until Schwarzenegger stepped away from Hollywood and decided to run for governor of California in 2003 that the ice began to thaw in their relationship.

“I said, enough of this. We’re not in competition,” Stallone recalled. “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.”

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Just as Schwarzenegger’s time in office was coming to an end, he made his film return by teaming up with Stallone for a cameo in 2010’s The Expendables. The duo then formed an ongoing big screen partnership, starring together in 2012’s Expendables 2, 2013’s Escape Plan, and 2014’s Expendables 3.

Schwarzenegger isn’t the only ’80s icon that Stallone has become closer with in recent years. Recently speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Stallone’s Rocky IV costar Dolph Lundgren admitted that their dynamic changed once Lundgren spoke out about his health struggles.

“I remember when I broke the news about my cancer, the next day I was in a store in Beverly Hills, and I get this call from him, and he’s in tears. ‘[Stallone voice] How are you feeling? I have to see you,’” Lundgren shared. “And it was like, whoa. I was just in shock, because we had this tough-guy kind of camaraderie, but we hadn’t really spoken about this on that level. Since then we’ve become quite close friends. I think those guys are softies too, like me.”

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”