Sylvester Stallone - Stallone: 'Arnie Is The Most Extraordinary Man'

Caption: Sylvester Stallone (Picture) is seen signing autographs for fans outside his hotel. New York City, USA ....

Stallone: 'Arnie Is The Most Extraordinary Man'

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SYLVESTER STALLONE has high praise for his former blockbuster rival ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER - he insists the former TERMINATOR-turned-California Governor is the most "extraordinary" man he's ever met.

The two musclebound superstars first met at the 1977 Golden Globe Awards and, despite their rivalry on the big screen, they've always been good friends - and business partners in the Planet Hollywood empire.

They recently teamed up briefly for Stallone's action film The Expendables and now the actor/director has opened up about his true feelings for Arnie, who is considering a return to Hollywood after serving as California's leader.

Stallone tells the Los Angeles Times, "When people ask me who is the most extraordinary guy I’ve ever met, I answer that it’s him. Think about it - the force of will and the fact that he is successful in three diverse and impossibly difficult areas...

"The politics of bodybuilding? Forget about it. And he was and is the most influential bodybuilder who ever lived, by far. Then, in Hollywood, with his background of being Austrian and all this baggage of not being American, and he became number one. And then politics, it’s off-the-chart hard. He’s the Governor of California, that's all; just the Governor of the biggest state in population.

"This is not some city council somewhere."

And Stallone is convinced his pal has what it takes to become a president, if American laws about foreigners seeking the highest office change.

He adds, "He would make it as a presidential candidate. It’s mind-blowing."