Culture news “I hated him” Sylverster Stallone really didn't like this actor: he was openly jealous of him
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Some rivalries have become legendary in Hollywood. The stars don't even hide it because their animosity towards a colleague is known to the general public. Sylvester Stallone himself has not escaped the dark side of the 7th Art. His standoff with Arnold Schwarzenegger is a secret, but he wasn't the only actor he “hated.”
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Terminator versus Rambo
Movie buffs know this story. In the 80s, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are the best enemies in the world. Their rivalry on screen (but also off) is emblematic of this era. Fortunately, things have since changed. The performers of T-800 (Terminator) and Rambo / Rocky have made peace and have been proclaiming it loud and clear for several decades. They never miss an opportunity to point out how much they admire each other. Another actor can boast of having been in Sylvester Stallone's crosshairs.
A long-standing “friendship”
Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't the only actor in whom Sylvester Stallone saw a rival. Dolph Lundgren, the antagonist of the film Universal Soldier with Jean-Claude Van Damme, particularly marked S. Stallone during their first meeting. The one who will become Ivan Drago in Rocky IV gave rise to a feeling of jealousy in the star that was rarely felt by the latter. In short, he was jealous of Dolph Lundgren, whom he called “an incredibly handsome guy.” During an interview on the YouTube channel An Experience Withhe even declared that he “hated” him before clarifying his remarks:
He walked into the room and I hated him.
This guy jumped the evolutionary scale by about a thousand years. He's 6 feet tall, has hair that can only be cut with a lawnmower, cheekbones that look like a Harley Davidson, lips so big they would explode if he flew 2 miles above from the surface of the earth, and then this neck, these shoulders! -Sylvester Stallone
The story ultimately ends well for Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren. Rocky IV was a huge success at the cinema, particularly thanks to its iconic villain and its opposition between the Western and Eastern blocs. Rocky's fourth adventure grossed US$300 million on a budget of US$28 million. And the most important thing is yet to come. The two actors are still long-time friends in 2024. The first did not hesitate to invite the second to join The Expendables saga from the first film in order to revive a dying subgenre… 80's action breastfed with testosterone and fed with gunpowder.