Although they have developed a friendship over the years, Arnold Schwarzenegger admits that he and Sylvester Stallone weren’t always friendly towards each other. 

During an appearance on the Graham Norton Show last week, Schwarzenegger spoke about the competitiveness between him and Stallone. “We were movie rivals,” he explained. “But we took the competitiveness to the extreme. We each had to have the best body, we had to kill more people in our films, and we had to have the biggest guns.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger further explained that things between him and the Rocky star got out of control and they tried to derail each other. “Then, when we both invested in Planet Hollywood, we started flying around the world together to promote it and we became fantastic friends.”

Along with being business partners, Schwarzenegger and Stallone appeared in various action movies such as Escape Plan as well as The Expendables films.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Recently Recalled Being Invited on Sylvester Stallone’s Yacht Once

While speaking to People earlier this month, Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke about one instance between him and Sylvester Stallone that sent their rivalry to a new level. 

“Syl calls me: ‘Want to come on the yacht?’” Schwarzenegger recalled while promoting his new book Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life. “What do you think I’m going to ask, ‘When can I have dinner?’ It’s not going to happen. I can get my own yacht. That’s not my trip. I can’t even relax under those circumstances.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger also spoke about how he and Stallone would constantly do things to one-up each other. The duo even had shoulder surgery on the same day in 2012 right before shooting a movie together. “He always had to do everything I do,” Schwarzenegger jokingly explained. 

Despite their rough past, Schwarzenegger says he has nothing but admiration for his action film rival. “I really admire him. I love him. He’s just a different person than me. He’s much more raw, and he’s much more vulnerable and in touch with his emotions.” 

Schwarzenegger pointed out that when Stallone gets mad, he just gets mad. “It’s like when you light a fuse — his goes right away. ‘Boom!’ Mine goes, ‘Shhh.’ It takes two days to get to the actual boom. It makes him good at acting because he feels things immediately.”

In regards to how he even enjoys time away from his work, Schwarzenegger stated he doesn’t do much. “I don’t plan a day off… To go on vacation to Europe or to go on a boat like most of my friends do. I can relax at home. I can relax in my office when I work. Or I’ll go to the USC Schwarzenegger Institute and hang out with the students.”