Arnold Schwarzenegger reflected on his longstanding competition with fellow action star Sylvester Stallone, attributing its role in propelling his career forward

While conversing for TMZ Presents: Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons that aired Tuesday on FOX, the Terminator star revealed that the competition with the Rocky actor provided him with a driving force, stating, "I had something I could chase."

"There’s no two ways about that: He was very helpful in my career because I had something that I could chase," said Schwarzenegger, 76, of Stallone, 77.

Stallone shared that when Schwarzenegger "came along I was like finally, something to motivate me. Because he is, dare I say it, competition, a threat, whatever word you wanna use."

"As soon as I saw him it was like bang, two alphas hitting," the First Blood star added.

He also continued, "If we walked into a party we’d be staring at each other for a few seconds and then ‘I gotta get that guy. He didn’t do anything wrong but he will.’”

Schwarzenegger also confessed that he was "the one who started this whole thing ... by opening up my mouth, saying stupid things, being competitive."

It is worth noting her that Arnold Schwarzenegger won New Actor of the Year for Stay Hungry, and Stallone's Rocky took up the best film prize at the 1977 awards ceremony.