How Arnold and Sylvester Went From Enemies to Having a Friendship Stronger Than Any Action Hero

When we say “action movies,” we say Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 2 hunks had us glued to the screen for the better part of half a century, and they don’t seem to say “hasta la vista” to acting soon — fingers crossed.

Some friendships are like love at first sight: you meet, you feel “the click,” and no matter how long you’re apart when you get together again, you know you have a friend for life. Others, like the bond of Sly, now 76 years old, and Arnie, 75, started as a rivalry. And it took many decades before they turned it into a bromance that we admire. Today, let’s find out the entire story behind it together.

The 2 met in 1977, and their feud started at an award ceremony.

Stallone and Schwarzenegger met for the very first time at the Golden Globes in 1977. The sports drama, Rocky, was nominated for 6 awards. The same night, Arnold was also nominated for New Star of the Year — both actors were up and coming at the time. Sylvester noticed that Arnold was gloating when seeing, through the night, how many awards Rocky had lost.

When the movie finally got the award for Best Picture, Stallone took a big bowl of flowers and threw it at Arnold, and that’s how their 10-year+ feud started; “We couldn’t stand being in the same galaxy, even our DNA hated each other,” Sylvester shared.

Their competition was not only in real-life but also on the big screen.

The 3 musketeers of blockbusters: Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone, 1991

In the 1988 movie Twins, Schwarzenegger’s character makes fun of a Rambo poster. The next year, Stallone responded in the movie Tango & Cash, in which he had a brawl with a man who looked like Schwarzenegger. The actor later admitted that he imagined Schwarzenegger while shooting the scene.

“We were attacking each other in the press relentlessly. We called each other names and called out our weak points, and it was so competitive. It became so silly that all of a sudden it became a competition about who had the most muscular body,” the Terminator actor shared.

The Terminator actor went as far as using reverse psychology on Rocky Balboa.

Their rivalry went so far that Schwarzenneger even tricked Stallone into doing a terrible movie, he said. “I read the script, and it was so bad. Let’s be honest. I say to myself, ’I’m not going to do this movie.’”

Then he went to Stallone and he “called me (and asked), ’Have they ever talked to you about doing this movie?’ And I said, ’Yes, I was thinking about doing it. This is a really brilliant idea, this movie.’ When he heard that, because he was in competition, he said, ’Whatever it takes, I’ll do the movie.’ And of course, the movie flopped.”

From foes to friends — these action movie stars can beat any fairytale plot.

In the late 1990s, when both actors’ box office impact took a slower turn, the 2 ended their conflict and went on to become actual friends and even starred in a few movies together. They publicly congratulate each other on their birthdays and they enjoy each other’s company. Recently, a picture of Sly and Arnie went viral, where we can see 2 adorable buff men carving pumpkins for Halloween.

What team are you on, Schwarzenegger or Stallone, or Schwarzallone? What are your favorite movies of them? Let us know in the comments.