Sylvester Stallone’s iconic Rocky franchise is considered one of the greatest underdog stories of all time, and cemented the Italian Stallion’s place as Hollywood’s celebrated action stars. While the films relied heavily on the shoulders of Stallone’s charismatic and inspirational titular protagonist, the franchise’s evolution must also be credited to another important character Apollo Creed played by Carl Weathers.
Along with various other memorable characters who directly and indirectly pushed Rocky Balboa to attain glory, Weathers’ Apollo Creed is considered to be the pivot that moved the Rocky saga forward leading to the Creed spinoff films featuring Michael B. Jordan. Interestingly, Weathers bagged this crucial part in a rather unconventional way by actually insulting Stallone during the initial script reading.
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How Carl Weathers’ Rudeness Won Him The Role In Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky
Getting a breakthrough role in a huge film involves a lot of hard work, persistence, and a fair amount of luck by being at the right place at the right time. Carl Weathers who played Apollo Creed in Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky, was definitely in the right place, but won the coveted part in the most unconventional manner. The Dangerous Passion actor was called upon to read the initial draft of the script with Stallone who was also the writer of the film.
Following the session, Weathers was not satisfied with how the reading went, and proceeded to express his awkwardness by shockingly insulting The Expendables star with instinctive brutal candor. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he recalled the cringeworthy moment when he realized the impact of his words.
“So I just blurted out, ‘I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with.’ So I just insulted the star of the movie without really knowing it and not intending to,”
As luck would have it, Weathers’ scathing honesty worked in his favor. Despite being the target of the insult, Sylvester Stallone was impressed with the straightforward demeanor of the Action Jackson star, and felt that it would work perfectly for the character of Apollo Creed in Rocky. The rest, as they say, is history.
Sylvester Stallone’s Least Favorite Rocky Film
Over 6 films between 1976 and 2006, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky series inspired audiences worldwide with its intense tale of underdog glory. Being the creative brain behind the story, the series was Stallone’s baby that grew and blossomed over the years. Despite the fact that choosing between one’s children is probably one of the most impossible tasks that any parent can have, the action star still managed to rate the films from best to worst. In an appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Stallone was clear about his choice for the worst Rocky film.
” Five? Oh, Zero. It was that bad. It was goose egg. I was definitely not there.”
The Creed actor stated that the failure of Rocky 5 ignited his desire to do another film as he did not want to end the franchise with the reputation of having made a bad movie. Years later, Stallone’s wish was fulfilled when he went on to do Rocky Balboa, a film that is emotionally close to his heart by the actor’s own confession.
