Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise has always had a special spot in the lives of every action movie enthusiast. After all, the storyline epically combined drama and action to showcase the journey of an underdog boxer. While Sylvester Stallone majorly contributed to the success of Rocky, the films would not have been what they are without the combined efforts of the cast and crew, including late actor Carl Weathers.
Carl Weathers played the role of world champion, Apollo Creed. Since the two characters were pitted against each other in the ring, both actors had to spend a good amount of their time rehearsing for the fights. In a recent interview, Sylvester Stallone showed a heartwarming behind-the-scenes video from one of his and Carl Weathers’ rehearsals.
Sylvester Stallone Shares Rehearsal Video
Carl Weathers passed away at the age of 76 on the first day of February. Needless to say, the film industry was in shambles. Sylvester Stallone has spent years working with Weathers on the Rocky franchise as the latter was a part of four films. Therefore, it goes without saying that Stallone was deeply affected by Weathers’ passing.
During Stallone’s recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actor came prepared to make the audience absolutely emotional with his stories about Weathers. The First Blood actor also bought a behind-the-scenes video of himself and Weathers practicing for Rocky 1’s final fight scene, which perfectly describes the relationship between the two actors.
Check out the video below:
Sylvester Stallone shares a clip of him and Carl Weathers rehearsing their final fight in ‘ROCKY’. pic.twitter.com/53Z2EtPUpA
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 10, 2024
If you have grown up watching the Rocky movies, this little clip ought to have dampened your eyes. Despite playing the antagonist in the film, Weathers and Stallone’s off-screen relationship was absolutely beautiful. No wonder Stallone “had a great time” filming with the late actor and his friend.
Sylvester Stallone Gets Emotional Talking about Carl Weathers
When the topic of Rocky came up in the video thanks to singer Adele wanting a Rambo statue in her home, host Jimmy Fallon brought up the topic of Weathers’ demise saying, “Hey, speaking of ‘Rocky’, you lost someone very near and dear to you last week. Carl Weathers.”
Stallone, who got visibly emotional upon the mention of his brother-like friend, couldn’t stop himself from gushing over just how “magnificent” the Action Jackson actor was. He stated,
“That was terrible. It was shocking. You know, every time I just swell up. He was magnificent. ‘Rocky’ was a compilation of really great actors almost born to play those parts and I couldn’t fill that spot because it required incredible athleticism, brains, spirit, talent, and speed. He had it all. I mean, he had it all…I loved him. I couldn’t have done it without him. He was magnificent.”
Stallone has always been in awe of Weathers and will continue to be for the years to come. This is evident from the fact that the actor saw his Rocky co-star as the powerful superhero, Superman. Talking to TODAY about Weathers’ passing, Stallone said,
“It still chokes me up. I was numb…I saw him as Superman. He really was. He had the voice, the talent, the humor, he had it all. I couldn’t have made it without him cause’ he just brought that element, you know?”
Despite the fact that the two got off on the wrong foot when Weathers failed to recognize him as a real actor while auditioning for Rocky, they eventually managed to build a relationship that could not be shaken.
You can stream Rocky on Max.
