Sylvester Stallone admits he was both excited and nervous when he first learnt Samuel L Jackson would be joining Tulsa King.

“When I heard that was going to happen, I went, ‘Oh, this is going to be a fistfight. “This is going to be a battle,” Stallone told People. Comparing it to two boxers stepping into a ring, he added, “So you are getting nervous because you are dealing with serious competition.”

Stallone, who plays mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi, said his nerves quickly disappeared once filming began. “We are good; we are flowing,” he explained. “We just worked that well together.” He even joked about a potential spin-off starring the pair, calling it Tulsa King and Buddy.

Jackson joined Season 3 as Russell Lee Washington Jr, an ex-con sent to eliminate Manfredi. Stallone praised his co-star’s presence on set, saying Jackson brought “relaxed confidence” and “pops” on screen. “That takes years to develop,” he said, likening working with Jackson to squaring off with a heavyweight fighter.

Meanwhile, Jackson is set to headline his own spin-off, NOLA King, which follows his character back to Louisiana to build a criminal empire. Season 3 of Tulsa King is currently streaming on Paramount+, introducing Stallone’s daughter Scarlet in an expanded role alongside new cast members Kevin Pollak and Dana Delaney. The streamer has already renewed the series for a fourth season, leaving plenty of room for Stallone and Jackson’s on-screen rivalry to grow.

Reflecting on his own career journey, Stallone told People, “You are just trying to survive. You're not really aware of the chaos it's all enveloped in. I told myself, ‘You're probably not going to make it. But I don't want to have any damn regrets. You give this decision 100%, not 99%.’”

Now nearing 80, the actor looks back with pride. “When you lay back and you’re looking [at your life], you just say, ‘Dear Lord, I tried my best. I didn’t hold back anything. So that’s really what my legacy is: that I didn’t quit.’”