From his journey as a football linebacker to one of the greatest actors of all time, Carl Weathers was a force to reckon with. Starting in 1975, he blessed Hollywood with one entertaining piece after the other. However, his role as Derick “Chubbs” Peterson is the one we just can’t seem to forget. After all, it was Happy Gilmore that transitioned Carl Weathers from an action star to a comedy star.
Unfortunately, it was this very film that proved to be a bane for the actor. Starring alongside the comedy king Adam Sandler himself, Carl Weathers was subjected to the worst injury of his life; an injury that was enough to bring even the most experienced surgeons to their knees.
Carl Weathers’ Shocking Injury
Carl Weathers was absolutely fine filming some of the most epic action films of all time, including the Rocky franchise, Predator, Action Jackson, and so on. That being said, it’s interesting to think that the movie that resulted in this horrific injury would be from the comedy genre!
Playing the role of Chubbs in Happy Gilmore, Weathers encountered a scene that would leave his body in pain for years to come. When asked by GQ Magazine if he picked up a serious injury on the sets of Adam Sandler’s film, Weathers replied,
“Yeah, that’s true. I didn’t tell anyone because, you know, I’m tough, man. Yeah I hurt my back and actually, to this day, it still really bothers me, because it was right on the spine. It was a blind fall. There are stunt bags, which, maybe are like two feet tall. But the bag wasn’t pushed all the way against the wall, so when I went out backwards instead of hitting something flat, my body kind of got trapped, my head on the bags, and my tailbone at the wall, and so it just would crunch on the spine.”
However, the injury had nothing on Weathers who decided to keep going for a few more takes. He added,
“I felt the pain and the burning sensation immediately. But again, I’m an athlete, I’m tough, I’m an actor, let’s keep going. And after about three or more of those, I said, ‘No more of that.’”
Weathers continued to explain the severity of his injury, which he did not realise until three or four years later. After visiting one doctor after the other to deal with the pain, the actor decided it was finally time to take the opinion of surgeons. But even the best surgeons were left speechless at Weathers’ condition.
“I didn’t know it until years later, but I fractured two vertebrae and osteophytes grew out and connected and it did a kind of self-fuse in a really bad place. There were three or four years there where I was just in excruciating pain. And somehow, I was going to a doctor and getting treatment and then I went to another doctor and, finally, after I thought I was exhausted with what to do, I started to look into surgeons…
…I was told by one of the heads of surgery at one of our very fine hospitals in Los Angeles, ‘You don’t want us to touch that. We can only make it worse.’ I went, ‘How am I going to get through this?’ After maybe the fourth year it all started to calm down. Now, for about two-and-a-half years, almost three years, no serious pain. I’m glad not to be experiencing what I was experiencing. It was debilitating.”
We are glad Weathers finally found relief from the excruciating pain. After all, a spine injury is not one to joke about!
Carl Weathers Knew How to Live with Pain
While this sounds rough, it’s unfortunately a harsh reality for many athletes out there, including Weathers. Talking about how the injury affected him mentally, the Creed actor stated how the pain made him feel absolutely debilitated. When asked whether it was tough or not, he said,
“Tough? Come on. Especially if it’s your spine. That’s like having a beam that holds everything up. And when you move your arms you’re affecting that. When you move your legs, your toes. When you breathe. Debilitating is a good word. Fortunately, being an athlete and having been injured a number of times, you kind of learn to live with pain, which is not a very good thing. Pain is there to tell you something’s wrong.”
It’s unimaginable how Weathers managed to spend four years of his life in constant pain. However, his attitude toward the rough patch of his life speaks volumes about the kind of person he was. Determined and tough, Weathers will always be remembered for centuries to come.
You can stream Happy Gilmore on Peacock.
