Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals How He Resolved Feud with Sylvester Stallone

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are close friends now, but there was a time where they were actually quite bitter rivals.

For more than a decade – including when they were at the height of their fame in the 1980s – they were constantly bad-mouthing each other in the press. 

Schwarzenegger even confirmed in 2017 that he purposefully leaked his ‘interest’ in the film Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot, so Sly would swoop in and take the role.

They ultimately became friends and co-stars in films like The Expendables franchise and Escape Plan, though he recently revealed how the feud came to an end.

Schwarzenegger, 77, who made bizarre comments about his son Patrick recently, was promoting his new series Fubar on Radio Andy, where he confirmed, ‘We hated each other’ at the time.

He also revealed that, surprisingly enough, it was their partnership in the restaurant chain Planet Hollywood that truly brought them together.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are close friends now, but there was a time where they were actually quite bitter rivals

They ultimately became friends and co-stars in films like The Expendables franchise and Escape Plan, though he recently revealed how the feud came to an end

When host Andy Cohen asked how they buried the proverbial hatchet, Schwarzenegger said, ‘It was Planet Hollywood. It was actually Planet Hollywood.’

‘We were kind of like attacking each other, doing nasty things, saying nasty things about each other and all these stupid things,’ the former California governor admitted.

‘And then all of a sudden, I started working with Robert Earl and Keith Barish to create the Planet Hollywood franchise, and the next thing I know, I get a call from my lawyer, who was also Sly’s lawyer, and he said, “Arnold, is there any kind of room for Sly on Planet Hollywood?”‘ Schwarzenegger recalled.

The actor added, ‘I said, “That’s actually a good idea,” because that could bring us together, and I wanted that. At that point I had grown out of my crazyness.’

‘So, sure enough, we made it work, then Bruce Willis became part of Planet Hollywood, then Whoopi Goldberg became part of Planet Hollywood, then Chuck Norris,’ he added.

The rivalry went all the way back to January 1977, when Arnie and Sly were both seated at the same table during the Golden Globe Awards.

Schwarzenegger was awarded Best Acting Debut for his 1976 film Stay Hungry, which he was ‘gloating’ about, while Stallone was up for several awards for Rocky.

Stallone revealed in a 2017 interview with Variety that he saw Schwarzenegger laughing when he lost Best Actor, but Sly got the last laugh when Rocky won Best Picture.

When host Andy Cohen asked how they buried the proverbial hatchet, Schwarzenegger said, ‘It was Planet Hollywood. It was actually Planet Hollywood’

‘We were kind of like attacking each other, doing nasty things, saying nasty things about each other and all these stupid things,’ the former California governor admitted

The actor added, ‘I said, “That’s actually a good idea,” because that could bring us together, and I wanted that. At that point I had grown out of my crazyness’

‘Finally it was Rocky, Best Picture, I managed to grab this giant bowl of flowers and heave it in his direction, and I went, OK, the gauntlet is down,’ he said.

He added, ‘This began a 10-year battle royale. I mean, we couldn’t stand to be in the same galaxy,’ but ultimately the feud came to an end.

‘Now we realized we’re the same person, that’s what it was,’ he said, adding they’re,’ great friends, fantastic friends.’

While Schwarzenegger was Governor of California, he invited Stallone to his inauguration ceremonies and Stallone donated $15K to his campaign fund.