Years ago, Carl Weathers revealed how he landed the legendary Apollo Creed role in Rocky. The decisive factor was a sentence in which he criticized Sylvester Stallone. He celebrated exactly this kind of
In addition to Sylvester Stallone as the star of Rocky, the first part of the iconic boxing film series was also shaped by his rival. Carl Weathers played Rocky’s great opponent Apollo Creed, who even triumphs over the main character in the ring in the finale.
A few years ago, Weathers, who died on February 1, spoke about how he got the role in the first Rocky part. It was mainly due to one sentence with which the action star really belittled Stallone. He, in turn, was thrilled by the snotty manner
Carl Weathers didn’t recognize Sylvester Stallone as an actor at first
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on the release of the Rocky spin-off Creed – Rocky’s Legacy in 2015, Weathers spoke about his audition for the first part of the boxing film series. No other actors were present at the audition, so Weathers was told he would read his lines with the film’s screenwriter. This was Stallone.
For Weathers, the joint audition was not exactly ideal:
And we read through the scene and at the end I didn’t feel like it went over really well and they were quiet and there was this moment of awkwardness that I felt, anyway.
So I just blurted out, ‘I could do a lot better if I had a real actor to work with.’ So I just insulted the star of the movie without really knowing it and without intending to do it.
Weathers then went on to say that this snotty, cheeky manner was a perfect fit for Apollo Creed as a character. The accidental insult to the star ultimately earned him his most legendary role.
Have you read it yet? Rocky vs. Rambo: Sylvester Stallone explains who wins the battle of the action giants
(Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa and Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed in Rocky)
After Rocky 1, Carl Weathers also played Apollo Creed in the sequels Rocky II, Rocky III – The Eye of the Tiger and Rocky IV – The Fight of the Century.
