Carl Weathers had, hands down, the most interesting filmography of all the actors. He squared off as Apollo Creed against Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa, battled an extraterrestrial predator in the jungle, and mentored Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore in the same-titled 1996 flick. Watching him in any television show or film has always been enjoyable. Regretfully, on February 1, the renowned actor went away.
There were not many actors with the kind of versatility Weathers displayed in dozens of TV and film roles. He was adored by many, including many of the actors who had the honor of working with him over the years. Sylvester Stallone was among the several colleagues who shared condolences and talked about how much the late star meant to them on social media following the news of his passing.
Some of these comments make it clear that many actors considered him to be more than just a fellow actor or collaborator. He was on another level, and the entertainment world will miss him terribly. To everyone’s surprise, though, Weathers was even more of a Michael B. Jordan supporter than Stallone.
Carl Weathers Praised Creed Star Michael B. Jordan
While legacy sequels are never a sure thing, Creed surprised everyone by starting a whole new franchise where the Rocky movies left off. Michael B. Jordan played Adonis Creed in the movie, the son of Apollo Creed, who was portrayed by Carl Weathers in multiple motion pictures. Although he was absent from all of the Creed films, his influence was felt.
Thus, Jordan would naturally pay tribute to the man whose footsteps he continued to follow. He shared a photo of Weathers on his Instagram stories, writing:
“We lost a legend.”
Meanwhile, Weathers praised Jordan’s portrayal of the character, even though he did not appear with him in the Creed films. Not long after the first Creed movie came out, the late actor shared on X, saying:
@michaelb4jordan You did well for the CREED name! Congrats on great job, my friend! May your success continue. #BePeace
— Carl Weathers (@TheCarlWeathers) November 20, 2015
Evidently, there was a great deal of appreciation on both sides. Although we are aware of Sylvester Stallone’s distancing from Creed III, Weathers has never made negative remarks about the series. The Rocky Balboa star lamented the direction that Creed III, the ninth installment, has taken.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone discussed his displeasure with Creed III’s direction and his different perspectives with director/star Michael B. Jordan and producer Irwin Winkler.
“That’s a regretful situation because I know what it could have been. It was taken in a direction that is quite different than I would’ve taken it. It’s a different philosophy — Irwin Winkler’s and Michael B. Jordan’s. I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist. I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them going into that dark space. I just feel people have enough darkness.”
Since the first Rocky film was released in 1976, Stallone has played Rocky Balboa in all six of the Rocky film series. He played the same role in Creed (2015) and Creed II (2018), in which Jordan’s character, Adonis Creed, was trained by Balboa. In April 2021, Stallone made it known that he would not be participating in more Creed movies (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Sylvester Stallone Gave His ‘Brilliant’ Co-Star A Heartfelt Tribute
Sylvester Stallone, who starred with Carl Weathers in Rocky, released a video message in memory of the late actor shortly after word of his passing spread. The former reacted to the news of Weathers’ death and muses on his lasting influence in the video, displaying his evident emotion. Stallone said.
“Today is an incredibly sad day for me. I’m so torn up I can’t even tell you. Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success … I give him incredible credit.”
In fact, a large portion of Stallone’s video message is devoted to celebrating Weathers’ achievements and impact, in addition to paying tribute to him. The actor added:
“I never could have accomplished what we did with ‘Rocky’ without him. He was absolutely brilliant.”
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With the words “It is a horrible loss… he was magic”, Stallone concluded his homage, expressing how many people are probably feeling in the wake of Weathers’ passing.
Variety and Deadline report that the actor, who was born in New Orleans and is best known for his roles in Rocky, Predator, and The Mandalorian, “died peacefully in his sleep” on Thursday at the age of 76.
Social media was overflowing with fans lamenting the loss in comments. It is thus also a great chance to mention some of Weathers’ funniest Happy Gilmore lines. It is “all in the hips”, as the actor famously taught the world.
