Stallone Says His Schwarzenegger Rivalry Ended When Arnold Ran for Governor

Sylvester Stallone says his long rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger only ended when Schwarzenegger decided to run for governor of California. He discussed the feud in an interview on the podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, which aired on November 5, 2026. Variety reported the comments on November 8.

Stallone, who is 80, and Schwarzenegger, who is 79, were two of the biggest action stars of the 1980s and 1990s. Stallone said the two of them fought to lead the genre, trading places with films such as Rambo and Commando. He told the podcast that the rivalry "wasn't put to bed until 20 years later," when Schwarzenegger chose politics. Entertainment Weekly had earlier reported that Stallone described the feud as lasting 20 years.

Stallone recalled a moment that, in his telling, ended the contest. He said he told Schwarzenegger at the same cigar place, "Enough of this. We're not in competition anymore." By then, Schwarzenegger was no longer making movies, so there was nothing left to compete over on screen.

The two men had gone into business together as well. Stallone said they partnered on the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain in 1991. Even so, he said, they would not share a stage to give a speech together. He also said they "were very confrontational" during the feud.

Stallone said the two remain friendly, and still competitive, though not in the same way. "Not as financially competitive anymore," he said, according to Variety's account of the interview.

Page Six and People also covered the interview.

For fans of the era, the story is a window into how the action-film rivalry looked from one side of it. Stallone's account puts the end of the feud not in a film set or a box-office race, but in a career change on the other side of the Hollywood-to-politics line.