Sylvester Stallone discusses "frenemy" relationship with fellow '80s action star

In a career spanning over 50 years, Sylvester Stallone has certainly made a few friends - and probably a few enemies too. But his relationship with fellow 1980s action star Arnold Schwarzenegger has a bit of both sides.

The pair, known for their respective roles in the Rocky and Terminator franchises, famously appeared together in The Expendables series, with Escape Plan seeing them appear together as co-leads for the first time.

The collaboration was a long time coming for many fans of the action genre, but the duo famously had a feud for around a decade across the '80s and '90s, with each side often calling out the other in the press.

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Thankfully, that is very much a thing of the past. And in a new interview with Good Morning Britain on Friday (9 October), Stallone explained that the feud was a benefit for both actors at the time.

Speaking to Richard Arnold, he said: "Arnold's nature is to be combative and jousting all the time, and I'm not far off of that either. So it really was a great asset to have a frenemy like that."

Stallone appeared on the daytime ITV series as part of the promotional campaign for his upcoming memoir The Steps, and detailed how his most enduring role as Rocky Balboa came to be.

"It was the bridge of no return. I knew, having been rejected and told bluntly, 'you're never going to make it', that this was it," recalled the star, who wrote the screenplay for the 1976 sports drama.

"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," added the actor and producer.

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Rocky will soon be thrust into the limelight again, with I Play Rocky - a biographical drama based on the making of the film - set to hit the big screen later this year. Stallone, who is being played by Anthony Ippolito, had no involvement with the upcoming project.

Speaking with The Playlist about I Play Rocky, the actor said: "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."

Good Morning Britain airs on ITV1 and streams on ITVX, while I Play Rocky is released in UK cinemas on 6 November.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.