Sylvester Stallone admits Arnold Schwarzenegger rivalry made him make 'Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'

Sylvester Stallone has opened up on how his bitter rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger led him to star in the comedy flop Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.

The Hollywood star is a guest on The Jonathan Ross Show this weekend and will be seen telling how his determination to get one up on his acting enemy made him make a terrible career decision.

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In the 1992 comedy, Stallone plays a tough cop whose tiny, overbearing mother (played by Estelle Getty) comes to visit him and ends up as his patrol partner.

Stallone has said before that it is the worst film he has made, and it was critically panned - but the Rocky star says he was tricked into taking the leading role by Schwarzenegger.

The pair had been in competition with each other since the 70s and made no secret of their dislike for each other.

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Speaking to Jonathan Ross about Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Stallone says of Schwarzenegger: "We couldn’t stand to be in the same galaxy together for a while. We truly, truly loathed each other.

"He’s quite clever. He goes around town saying, ‘I can’t wait to do this film…’ I go to my agent, ‘Get that thing away from him. Get people options on me.’ I got it and I said, ‘What a piece of s*** this is.’ He goes, ‘Ha ha ha!’"

Stallone adds of Schwarzenegger's 1994 comedy Junior, where he plays a pregnant man: "At least I wasn’t pregnant in a film Arnold. We’re even."

Giving his side of the story, Schwarzenegger had previously told chat show host Jimmy Kimmel of Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot: "I read the script, and it was a piece of s***. Let's be honest. I say to myself, 'I'm not going to do this movie...' Then they went to Sly, and Sly called me, 'have they ever talked to you about doing this movie?'

"And I said, 'yes, I was thinking about doing it. This is a really brilliant idea, this movie.' When he heard that, because he was in competition, he said, 'Whatever it takes, I'll do the movie.' And of course the movie went major into the toilet."

During his Jonathan Ross appearance, Stallone also reveals that he almost ended up being Superman.

He says: "I auditioned for Superman. I’d have been the world’s shortest Superman…I don’t look good in leotards at all."

The Jonathan Ross Show airs on Saturday at 10pm on ITV.