Stallone on His ‘Frenemy’ Schwarzenegger and Why He Has No Part in the New Rocky Biopic
Sylvester Stallone has spent over half a century in Hollywood, making friends and likely a few enemies along the way. But his bond with Arnold Schwarzenegger is a whole different beast—a mix of fierce rivalry and deep respect. The two ’80s action icons, famous for Rocky and The Terminator, finally teamed up properly in Escape Plan after years of playful jabs at each other in the press.
In a recent chat on Good Morning Britain, Stallone opened up about their legendary feud, calling it a massive benefit to both of them. “Arnold’s nature is to be combative, and I’m not far off that either. Having a frenemy like that was actually a great asset,” he said, promoting his new memoir, The Steps.
During the interview, Stallone also got real about how he created Rocky in 1976. He wrote the screenplay specifically to play to his strengths and hide his weaknesses, like his natural slur and unique look. “I tailored it to avoid my weaknesses, tried to play to my strengths, because I have a slur, I have a look. So the character was designed to work with that,” he explained.
But the legendary character is getting the biopic treatment with I Play Rocky, a new film detailing the making of the original classic. Stallone made it clear he has zero involvement in the project, despite living through it all. “I was shocked to read about it. I have zero to do with it. Since I lived it, I thought I might be able to participate and give them some insight,” he told The Playlist. The movie hits UK cinemas on November 6th.
