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For decades, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger have been celebrated as two of Hollywood’s toughest action stars. Their careers have been defined by impossible fights, legendary rivalries, and stories of never giving up. But one recent conversation stripped away that larger-than-life image.
The discussion began with Stallone questioning the famous saying that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Minutes later, Arnold Schwarzenegger responded with a heartbreaking story about his late brother. As the two icons reflected on abusive homes, family trauma, and the different ways they escaped their past, the conversation became far more emotional than anyone could have expected.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Says His Childhood Saved Him But Destroyed His Brother
As the two actors discussed their difficult childhoods on TMZ Presents: Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons, the conversation began with Stallone reflecting on how childhood trauma changed their lives. The conversation took an emotional turn when Sylvester Stallone admitted that he has never believed the famous saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger
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In his view, surviving trauma does not make people stronger. Instead, it often leaves emotional scars that stay with them for life. “I don’t believe that which does not kill you makes you stronger,” Stallone said. “Usually that which doesn’t kill you, kills you, or almost comes close to it. And you carry scar tissue inside.”
He added that people who grow up in abusive homes carry a terrible burden, and many parents don’t even realize the damage they cause because they were treated the same way growing up.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, saw it differently, but not before sharing a heartbreaking reason why. He revealed that his older brother, Meinhard, reacted to their difficult childhood by becoming an alcoholic. “My brother Meinhard, he died,” Arnold said. “He died because his reaction was to become an alcoholic himself. One day driving with a car and then hitting a telegraph post… and just smashed into it and got killed.”
Despite that tragedy, Arnold said he still believes hardship can make a person stronger, depending on how they respond to it. “I do believe in what does not kill you makes you stronger, because it killed my brother, but it made me stronger.”
Schwarzenegger Explained Why He Chose To Leave His Past Behind
Arnold then looked back at his childhood in post-war Austria and explained why he never blamed his father. He recalled that his father returned from World War II with a broken back, malaria, shrapnel wounds, and years of pain. According to Arnold, the drinking that followed often led to violence inside their home.
“My dad was angry,” Arnold said, adding that many people in Austria were still carrying the pain of the war. He remembered that his father would sometimes “smack us around” and could be brutal toward his mother. Even so, Arnold said he always tried to understand where that anger came from instead of holding onto resentment.
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He also believes those difficult years became the reason he chased a different future. “If I had grown up as some people do with all the love in the world, I would have never left home. I would have stayed in Austria.” Arnold said the misery at home became the motivation that pushed him toward bodybuilding, America, and eventually a global career.
Stallone Said Both Of Them Found Different Ways To Escape
Stallone also reflected on his own childhood and agreed that both of them were always searching for a way out, even if they found it through different passions. Looking back, he said he eventually understood that his parents were carrying pain from their own upbringings.
“I can’t just blame it on them,” Stallone explained. “When I go back, and I look at my mother’s upbringing, orphanages and this and that, they were angry. And they just thought, ‘That’s the way I’m going to pass it on. You’re not going to be happy if I’m not happy.’” To him, trauma becomes a vicious cycle because people often repeat what they experienced as children.
Stallone then compared their escape routes. “You escaped in bodybuilding. I escaped the theater cuz I wasn’t too happy with the reality. So I said, ‘This is my world cuz I don’t like this one.’” Although he believes they were both destined to succeed, he wishes they had experienced more support while growing up. “I think that we were going to do it no matter what. It just would have been nice with a little bit more encouragement. That’s all.“
The conversation never settled the debate over whether hardship makes people stronger or simply leaves lasting scars. Instead, it showed that there is no single answer. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone lived through similar childhoods but came away with very different perspectives. While one believes pain became the force that pushed him toward a better life, the other sees trauma as something people carry forever.
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