Hollywood veteran Arnold Schwarzenegger recently opened up about the origins of his age-old rivalry with Sylvester Stallone, saying that it stemmed from his fierce competitive spirit to outperform the latter.

Schwarzenegger recalled the time Stallone called their long-standing rivalry “healthy”, mentioning that it motivated him to perform better. “I think it was my fault in a way. But I think as he said, that it was actually healthy,” the 77-year-old actor said in an episode of the 2 Bears, 1 Cave with Tom Segura & Bert Kreischer comedy podcast.

The Terminator star took a trip down memory lane and revisited moments when he felt competitive. Looking back on his preparation for his 1985 film Commando, Schwarzenegger said, “I mean the guy (Stallone) is really ripped. That motivated me then when I did my next movie Commando. I have to go and look like that too.”

The actor said that his competitive spirit motivated Stallone as well. “And that pushed him for his next movie when he did Rocky. It was unbelievable. For mature, supposedly grown up guys. That they are like — ‘Who has the bigger knife?’ So it was very important that we measured the length of the knife,” he said, laughing at their rivalry.

Alluding to his 1987 film Predator and Stallone’s Rambo movies, Schwarzenegger said that the duo used to analyse the guns they would use in their respective films. “Sly’s gun is normally used on helicopters,” he said, adding that since he served as a tank driver in the army, he wanted to work with a machine gun attached to a tank in Predator. “I said, ‘They are bigger than a helicopter’. I said, ‘That’s what I’m gonna have in Predator’,” he added.

“I always felt like I was getting behind,” he said, opening up about how they were competitive with their paychecks as well. “I was getting a million dollars for Conan Number 2, and then I’m reading, it says, Sly just made a deal to get five million dollars. So, I said, “What the f***?”

The two actors competed fiercely in the 1980s for the title of Hollywood's top action star. Their first encounter dates back to 1977 when they were seated at the same table during the 34th Golden Globe Awards. At that time, Stallone's Rocky (1976), had received six nods but ended up winning just one award. Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger went on to bag the New Star of the Year award for Bob Rafelson’s comedy drama Stay Hungry.

In a subsequent interview, Stallone revealed that Schwarzenegger had laughed at him when Rocky didn't sweep multiple categories. The tension escalated when Rocky finally won Best Motion Picture - Drama, prompting Stallone to throw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger during the award ceremony.

Their rivalry extended beyond public jabs, with both actors tricking each other into taking roles in films they knew would be a flop. This competitive spirit spiralled out of control, as each of them tried to have the best physique, the highest “body count” in their films and the most impressive weaponry.

However, when they both invested in Planet Hollywood, a themed restaurant chain launched in New York City on October 22, 1991, they had to travel the world together to promote it. This resulted in them burying the hatchet and forming a strong bond in the process.

Schwarzenegger even invited Stallone to events during his time as Governor of California, and Stallone participated in Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign. Their reconciliation led to them collaborating in several films including The Expendables franchise.