Sylvester Stallone admits Arnold Schwarzenegger is the 'superior' action movie star
In many iconic action movies filmed in the 1980s, the badass star was either Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. But this long rivalry between the pair may now end once and for all as Stallone has admitted that his fellow actor was the "superior" action movie star.
Stallone gave up the crown as he made an appearance in Schwarzenegger’s recently released Netflix documentary Arnold. There, he took the time to reflect on how action movies were made back when they were at their prime and how they evolved through the years.
"The '80s was a very interesting time because the definitive 'action guy' had not really been formed yet," Stallone said via IndieWire. "Up until that time, action was a car chase like Bullitt or The French Connection. A film all about intellect and innuendo and verbal this and verbal that."
As time went on, the genre became more complex and put more focus on the actors. Stallone recognized Schwarzenegger as one of the first ones to practice a physical approach to action filmmaking, making the movies truly about action.
"You actually relied upon your body to tell the story," he said. "He was superior. He just had all the answers. He had the body. He had the strength. That was his character."
Stallone went on to sing more praises of Schwarzenegger's physique and skills, which allowed him to thrive in the rather risky genre despite sustaining injuries that would have crippled other actors.
"I had to get my ass kicked constantly, whereas Arnold, he never got hurt much," he said. "And I’m going, 'Arnold, you could go out and fight a dragon and you’d come back with a Band-Aid.'"
But Schwarzenegger also has his own fair share of compliments for the veteran star.
"Every time he came out with a movie like Rambo II, I had to figure out a way of now outdoing that," he said. "Without Stallone, I maybe wouldn’t have been as motivated in the '80s to do the kind of movies that I did and to work as hard as I did. I’m a competitive person."
Things weren't always so amicable between the two. Because of their massive popularity in the action film landscape, the pair could not help but foster bitter feelings of rivalry and become incredibly antagonistic to one another in real life.
"We were competing about everything: The body being ripped and oiled up, who is more vicious? Who is more tough? Who uses bigger knives? Who uses bigger guns? Sly and I were at war," Schwarzenegger revealed via Entertainment Weekly.
The two have since buried the hatchet and even starred in their first film together in the 2013 prison action thriller Escape Plan before working together again in several installments of The Expendables franchise.
Stallone rose to fame after he portrayed action icons such as the PTSD-plagued soldier John Rambo and boxer Rocky Balboa. Schwarzenegger meanwhile became prominent for films such as The Terminator and Conan the Barbarian.