Dolph Lundgren Wanted to ‘Punch Out’ Sylvester Stallone on ‘Expendables’ Set: ‘I Was Kind of in Tears’

“I think he knows that I’ve always respected him and loved him, and I think that’s why we’re still friends,” said Dolph LundgrenSylvester Stallone; Dolph Lundgren. Photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage, Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Dolph Lundgren is recalling tense times with costar Sylvester Stallone.

The action star, 65, appeared on a new episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger this week, revealing a private cancer battle, details about his relationship with fiancée Emma Krokdal and more in the wide-ranging interview.

At one point, Lundgren recalled a frustrating interaction he had with Stallone, 76, while they were making 2010’s The Expendables together.

“We had some good times and bad times, kinda like family to some degree,” he said of Stallone, whom he also worked with on films like 1985’s Rocky IV, 2018’s Creed II and the Expendables sequels.

“He was very harsh on me in a scene in Expendables 1, where he kinda yelled at me in front of the whole crew and had me do about 20 takes on a scene,” claimed Lundgren. “It was like, ‘My grandmother could do it better than that. What the f—, what are you doing?’ You know, basically in front of everybody. And there was press there that day too, international press.”

“We took a lunch break and I remember, I was kind of in tears. I was really upset,” he continued. “I called my wife at the time, and I basically just told her, ‘If he says one more word, I’m gonna knock him out, and f— this movie, I’m outta here. I’m just gonna punch him out and f—-ing leave.’ ”

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Lundgren recalled that when he returned to the movie set “people felt it wasn’t such a good vibration.”

“Then I had a tap on the back and it was Sly. He was like, ‘Uh, I’m sorry about that. Let’s just do another take and let’s just keep moving on,’ ” said Lundgren. “And we’ve had a few run-ins over the years, but what can I say, he’s a crazy Italian. I think he knows that I’ve always respected him and loved him, and I think that’s why we’re still friends.”

A rep for Stallone did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Dolph Lundgren. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Lundgren played rival Ivan Drago opposite Stallone’s Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone recalled being hit with an uppercut by Lundgren while filming a fight scene for the film, landing him in the hospital at the time.

“Dolph Lundgren put me in the hospital for nine days. I knew I was in trouble when I showed up and nuns met you at the ICU,” Stallone said, adding that he instructed Lundgren to “just go out there and try to clock me; for the first minute of the fight, it is going to be a free-for-all” while directing the sequence.

In another interview with the outlet, Lundgren joked, “All I did was obey orders. He was the boss. I did what he told me.”

The full In Depth with Graham Bensinger interview debuts in broadcast syndication across the U.S. this weekend. Check your local listings.

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