"The only way I could catch up with him is if he had a stumble" — Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals tricking Sylvester Stallone into doing a flop film

On April 23, action stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone appeared in the FOX special TMZ Presents Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons where the duo talked about competing for the same roles over the years, including for the 1992 buddy cop action comedy Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.

Arnold Schwarzenegger recalled how he and his agent concocted a plan to trick Sylvester Stallone into signing up for the film which they knew had a weak script.

“I was, of course, absolutely in heaven, because I felt like the only way I could catch up with him is if he had a stumble,” the former California Governor recalled about the success of his plan.

Reportedly, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s instinct about the film was right as it largely received negative reviews upon its release and continues to have a 14 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 4.4/ 10 on IMDb.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger “never talked to” Sylvester Stallone about the prospect of the 1992 film

Both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were up for the same lead role of Sergeant Joseph Andrew “Joe” Bomowski for the 1992 film Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.

However, upon reading the script, the former wasn’t thrilled about the opportunity and slyly passed it on to the latter. The once rivals turned friends got candid about the incident with Harvey Levin, during their recent appearance on TMZ Presents Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons which aired on FOX on Tuesday.

Arnold Schwarzenegger explained -

"First of all, when we talk about the movie, I didn't talk him into [it] because I never talked to him about it. But it was very clear that his agent was telling my agent, ‘Look, Sly is interested in doing it, but I don’t know if it's the right thing for him. Let me know what you guys are thinking.' And then my agent said, ‘Well you know, Arnold really loves it. I think it’s fantastic.'"

To further deceive Stallone, the former Mr. Universe remembered getting in touch with the film’s director Roger Spottiswoode, who he recalled was a” hot director” at the time after making a James Bond movie.

Shocked to hear the details behind the story, the Rambo hitmaker responded with a series of “Oh My God!” as Arnold continued with his anecdote.

"So, my agent said 'Arnold is talking to Roger Spottiswoode now and he's really into it, I think we're gonna take the project.' And then of course [Stallone's] agent, knowing that he's competitive with me, he said, ‘Cannot let that happen,'" Schwarzenegger added.

The Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder further noted –

"He then called the studio right away and said, ‘Look, you got to give this to Sly. Don’t give this to Schwarzenegger, you got to give this to Sly.' And they said fine. Sly got it.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger explained how he did what he did because he knew the only way he could compete with Sylvester Stallone was if he had “stumble,” and was “absolutely in heaven,” when his plan worked out perfectly.

After hearing the entire story, Stallone quipped at Schwarzenegger saying, “Can you get more Machiavellian?” while admitting that he later regretted doing the film, and how throughout his career, he would be “stuck” with the reputation of doing a flop.

For those uninitiated, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot revolved around Stallone’s character Sergeant Bomowski, whose overbearing mother Tutti (played by Estelle Getty) interfered with his son’s career.

Meanwhile, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone contested to emerge as one of Hollywood’s top action stars. However later, the rivalry turned into friendship and brotherhood, when the duo collaborated on films including The Expendables franchise, Escape Plan, and more recently in Stallone’s reality show The Family Stallone where Arnold made a guest appearance in February 2024.