Carl Weathers only got his biggest role because he insulted Sylvester Stallone. Back to the facts.
In addition to Sylvester Stallone in the role of Rocky Balboa, the iconic boxing film saga also shined thanks to the performance of Carl Weathers in the skin of his formidable opponent, the legendary Apollo Creed – and this, from the very first Rocky ( 1976) by John G. Avildsen.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter for the release of the Creed spin-off in 2015, Carl Weathers had returned to his hearing 39 years earlier, during which he had bluntly criticized the game of Sylvester Stallone in front of the latter – an insult which, according to him, helped him land the role in question.
“There was no one to read with, and they said you were going to read with the screenwriter“, said Carl Weathers starting to laugh. And who is the screenwriter of Rocky ? Sylvester Stallone obviously !
“And we read the scene and at the end, I didn’t feel like it really worked, that the scene worked, and they were silent and the moment was disturbing. So I just blurted out, ‘I could do a lot better if I had a real actor to work with.’ I just insulted the star of the film without really knowing it and without meaning to.’”, he added with a laugh.
However, Sylvester Stallone thought the insult fit Apollo’s character perfectly. “Sometimes it’s the mistakes that get you the job”, Weathers finally concluded.
Sylvester Stallone’s tribute to his late friend
After the Rocky original, Carl Weathers reprized his role in the sequels Rocky II, Rocky III and Rocky IV. His death, which occurred on February 1 at the age of 76, shocked many Sylvester Stallone who shared a poignant video on social media. Very moved, he spoke of the “greatness” of his missing partner, declaring: “I was so lucky to be a part of his life.”
Rediscover his message below:
“Today is an incredibly sad day for me. I’m so broken I can’t even say it… I’m just trying to contain myself. Carl Weathers was an integral part of my life, of my success… For all that, I owe him so much credit and laurels. When he walked into that room and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness. But I didn’t realize how big he was. I could never have accomplished what we did with Rocky without him.”
“He was absolutely brilliant – his voice, his size, his presence, his athletic ability, but above all his heart, his soul. It’s… It’s a horrible loss… I’m standing in front of this board because it’s the last time we were in a ring together, and I’ll never forget it. He was magical. I was so lucky to be a part of his life. Apollo, keep hitting.”
The Rocky saga can be seen again on VOD.