In a number of recent interview appearances, action star Sylvester Stallone says that although he and Arnold Schwarzenegger are now good friends, for most of the '80s and '90s they "disliked each other immensely." Stallone has been making the rounds to promote Tulsa King, the actor's first major leading role in a television series.

　　Speaking with Forbes, Stallone said, "This may sound a little vain, but I think we were pioneering a kind of genre at that time and it hasn't been seen since really. So the competition, because it’s his nature, he is very competitive and so am I… and I just thought it actually helped, but off-screen we were still competitive and that was not a healthy thing at all." Stallone adds that they've "become really good friends" since.

　　In a recent episode of The Jonathan Ross Show, Stallone said (via Insider), "We couldn't stand to be in the same galaxy together for a while. We truly, truly loathed each other."

　　Stallone and Schwarzenegger alternated dominating the box office in action movies throughout the '80s and '90s. Stallone became synonymous with Rocky, Rambo, Cobra, and Tango & Cash. Schwarzenegger also became a household name on the strength of his iconic action roles in Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, Commando, and Predator.

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　　In 2017, Schwarzenegger told Vanity Fair about their mutual respect for each other via the Expendables franchise. "I think it’s a spectacular franchise. I think that Sly has good ideas, what he wants to do with it," Schwarzenegger said.

　　In Tulsa King, Stallone stars as New York mobster Sal, who is tasked with "re-establishing his Italian mafia family to the modernized, straight-shooting town of Kansas City, Missouri. There, Sal encounters surprising and unsuspecting characters who follow him along his unconventional path to power." Tulsa King premiered November 13 on Paramount+.

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　　David Wolinsky on Google+