Action star Sylvester Stallone has always possessed a tough guy image; after all, he has portrayed characters such as Rambo and Rocky. Thus, it is hardly surprising that he has found himself butting heads with people off-screen, too, most notably feuding with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The pair have engaged in many private and public arguments and incidents of hostility over the years, with Schwarzenegger even tricking Stallone into starring in the major box-office flop Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Elsewhere, Stallone has feuded with Richard Gere, reportedly fighting over Princess Diana.
Yet, Stallone has also had a strange friendship with one of his long-running co-stars, Dolph Lundgren, with whom he has constantly found himself at odds throughout the years. The Swedish actor first starred alongside Stallone in Rocky IV, playing Ivan Drago, Rocky’s main rival.
However, when Stallone first met Lundgren, his feelings were immediately fuelled by jealousy and dislike. Talking to Jimmy Fallon, Stallone revealed his first impressions of Lundgren: “In Rocky IV, I really wanted a huge, horrible, cruel guy. I mean, very primitive. And I couldn’t find him. I found giant wrestlers and soccer players.”
Instead, Stallone was seemingly intimidated by Lundgren’s good looks, and he was soon reminded of a character played by Schwarzenegger. “He was the real Terminator, and I said, ‘I hate this fucking guy. I hate him. He’s too handsome, too perfect. And if I hate him, I’m sure the world will.”
Regardless, Lundgren got the part, reprising it in 2018’s Creed II, the Rocky spin-off franchise. While the actor has mainly starred in direct-to-video action movies in the meantime, he did reunite with Stallone for The Expendables in 2010, which the latter also directed. Lundgren has appeared in the subsequent three sequels, with the most recent being 2023’s Expend4bles.
Yet, that same year, Lundgren revealed that during the filming of The Expendables, he came to blows with Stallone, almost threatening violence. He explained, “He was very harsh on me in a scene in The Expendables where he kinda yelled at me in front of the whole crew and had me do about 20 takes on a scene.“
The actor found himself in a state of despair due to Stallone’s treatment of him, adding, “I was really upset. I called my wife that time and I basically just told her, ‘If he says one more word, I’m gonna knock him out and fuck this movie. I’m outta here. I’m just gonna punch him out and fucking leave.’”
Stallone eventually apologised to Lundgren, and they seemingly put their differences aside. Evidently, though, Stallone is not the easiest person to work with, and we wouldn’t be surprised if news of another feud came to light any day now.