With braun and resilience, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone conquered the action movie genre of the 1980's. Stallone survived a traumatic childhood by learning to use his fists, a skill set that would later inform the iconic role he wrote for himself, Rocky. Schwarzenegger grew up in Austria, a natural athlete known for his physique and strength. While Schwarzenegger achieved renown as a bodybuilder, Stallone suffered rejection and homelessness as a struggling writer and actor. Though they lived worlds apart, both men shared a love for figures like Hercules. In time, the two would compete to play the role of their icon, eventually ascending to the same iconic stature as these role models.