Sylvester Stallone has grown "more thoughtful" as he has got older.

The veteran action star impressed his 'Expendables' co-stars with the considered way he directed their latest movie, and was always on hand to offer advice.

Dolph Lundgren revealed: "How has Sylvester changed? I think as a director he's a little more thoughtful I'd say, a little more mellow maybe.

"So he kind of talks to the actors a little more about their scenes and their performances. I thought that was kind of nice, at least for me. He really took his time and I think that really helped in the picture, too."

Despite admitting he works out regularly, Dolph had to step up the extent of his physical activity so he could match that of his co-stars.

He explained: "I'm always in pretty good shape. I do a lot of martial arts which is kind of agility and speed. And in this film I knew I had like Terry Crews, Stone Cold next to me and all those guys so I was like, 'I better do some weights,' you know? So I started doing some weights and got a little bigger, now I'm kind of leaned-out a little bit again. But, yeah, I had to match their arms. I didn't quite make it, but almost."