Robert Patrick Says His “Tulsa King” Nemesis Sylvester Stallone is Actually ‘One of My Favorite People’ (Exclusive)
Robert Patrick Says His “Tulsa King” Nemesis Sylvester Stallone is Actually ‘One of My Favorite People’ (Exclusive)
Tereza ShkurtajSat, September 5, 2026 at 9:59 PM UTC
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Robert Patrick; Sylvester Stallone.Credit: Greg Doherty/Getty; Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty -
In Tulsa King season 3, Robert Patrick and Sylvester Stallone play rivals battling over a rare bourbon operation
Despite their characters’ brutal feud, Patrick has nothing but praise for Stallone and tells PEOPLE they had a great time working together again
The 67-year-old actor also expressed admiration for director Taylor Sheridan
Robert Patrick may spend much of Tulsa King season 3 at odds with Sylvester Stallone, but the actor’s real-life feelings toward his longtime costar could not be more different.
On the Paramount+ series, Patrick and Stallone’s characters find themselves locked in an increasingly personal battle over territory, family and a rare batch of 50-year-old bourbon. Away from their on-screen feud, however, Patrick looks back on the “wonderful opportunity” to work with Stallone again with genuine affection — emphasizing that their rivalry was strictly for the screen.
“[Stallone’s] so great. One of… my favorite people,” Patrick, 67, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Just a warm, generous human being, incredibly talented. And we had a ball.”
Sylvester Stallone and Robert Patrick in ‘Cop Land.’Credit: Paramount+
Patrick and Stallone previously shared the screen in multiple projects, including the 1997 crime drama Cop Land.
In that film, Stallone played Freddy Heflin, a small-town sheriff surrounded by corrupt New York City police officers, while Patrick portrayed Jack Rucker, one of the officers at the center of the story. Their latest pairing, however, brings a very different kind of conflict.
In Tulsa King, Stallone plays Dwight Manfredi, a mobster released from prison at the beginning of the series and sent to Tulsa, where he must establish a new criminal operation.
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Patrick’s character, who is introduced in season 3, comes from a powerful local family with deep connections to distributors and law enforcement, making the arrival of Dwight’s operation a direct challenge to territory Patrick’s character considers his own.
Sylvester Stallone and Robert Patrick in ‘Tulsa King.’Credit: Brian Douglas/Paramount+
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Although Patrick joined the Tulsa King world through creator Taylor Sheridan, he tells PEOPLE he has yet to meet Sheridan in person. Still, Patrick spoke warmly about Sheridan’s writing and the opportunity that brought him onto the project.
“I haven’t yet met him… but I’m a huge fan of Taylor. I mean, he’s a fantastic writer,” he says. “I thought the [Tulsa King] script… it was like reading this romantic novel.”
The experience clearly left Patrick open to another Sheridan collaboration, as he adds: “I hope to work with him again. He has so many projects that hopefully he can plug me in somewhere.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
