In ’90s Hollywood, the ultimate battle was between Rocky and the Terminator.
Long before they appeared in “The Expendables” franchise together, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were bitter rivals.
“We couldn’t stand to be in the same galaxy together for a while,” Stallone, 76, said on Britain’s “The Jonathan Ross Show. “We truly, truly loathed each other.”
In fact, Stallone said that their feud was so fierce that they would fight over film projects, which led Schwarzenegger to trick the “Rambo” star about a much-maligned movie: 1992’s “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.”
“He’s quite clever. He goes around town saying, ‘I can’t wait to do this film,’ ” said Stallone of the 75-year-old former California governor. “I go to my agent, ‘Get that thing away from him. Get people options on me.’ ”
And Stallone did indeed land the role in the comedy costarring “The Golden Girls” actress Estelle Getty as his pistol-wielding mama. But it was all part of Schwarzenegger’s diabolical plan.
“I got it, and I said, ‘What a piece of s—t this is,’ ” said Stallone. “He goes, ‘Ha, ha, ha!’ ”
But Stallone — who now stars as aging mobster Dwight Manfredi in the new Paramount+ series “Tulsa King” — pointed out that his “Escape Plan” costar has had his own film fails, including 1994’s “Junior.” In the widely panned comedy, costarring Danny DeVito and Emma Thompson, Schwarzenegger plays a scientist who conceives a child in an experiment, ultimately giving birth to a baby girl.
“At least I wasn’t pregnant in a film, Arnold,” joked Stallone. “We’re even.”