Action icon Bruce Willis etched his name in pop culture history with Die Hard (1988). Despite waning in relevance for the last decade, Willis remains a respected actor. Hence, the entire industry showed concern when the actor fell ill. Recently, the Willis family announced their father was suffering from an untreatable condition, dementia. Since the announcement, his co-stars and fellow action cinema icons, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, have been a constant support.

However, during the 80s, Willis and Schwarzenegger’s relationship wasn’t so amicable. Willis made his Hollywood debut in 1980. By then Arnold Schwarzenegger had done a few films and was on the cusp of greatness. Sensing that he had a new box-office rival, the Austrian Oak used his signature mind games from his bodybuilding career to gain an edge over Willis.

A new book reveals an unknown encounter 

In his latest book, author Nick de Semlyen charts the course of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone’s career. However, other action stars from their era also feature in the book. In the part focusing on Willis, Semlyen revealed an encounter between Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Die Hard star where they met inside a restaurant in the early 80s.

Shortly after Bruce Willis made his Hollywood debut, he once ran into Arnold Schwarzenegger at the upscale Ivy by the Shore. While Willis sat on the other side of the restaurant, Schwarzenegger called out to the actor across the restaurant. “Know why you’ll never be an action star?” Arnie told his then-rival, according to Semlyen. “No, Arnold, why?” replied Willis.

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Everyone present at the restaurant couldn’t help but stare at the two. The Austrian Oak then pointed to his massive biceps. “Toothpick arms,” joked Arnie. However, the seven-time Mr. Olympia was proven wrong as Die Hard became the highest-grossing film of 1988, cementing Bruce Willis as an action star. It’s also important to highlight that Schwarzenegger’s words were not a personal attack on the Expendables actor. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger had an even more bitter rivalry with Sylvester Stallone

In the 80s and 90s, the top Hollywood stars didn’t get along. While Arnie’s first encounter with Willis resulted in banter, things got far more intense with Sylvester Stallone. During his prime, Sly was the Austrian’s biggest box-office rival. The first time they met in 1977, Schwarzenegger and Stallone nearly came to blows.

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Their rivalry started from the moment they met. The pair became obsessed with one-upping one another during their heyday. In fact, they would even compete on whose on-screen character scored more kills on bad guys in each film.

However, the match men of the 80s and 90s have reconciled their differences. Despite what transpired in the past, as Willis battles the incurable disease, Sly and Arnie have got his back.