Carl Weathers: From Rocky's Apollo Creed to The Mandalorian, the remarkable life of a film icon

Carl Weathers, who was virtually unknown at the time and had only a year's experience in acting, had previously played professional American football. He auditioned for "Rocky", during which he displayed a defiant attitude, even challenging Sylvester Stallone himself.

"I was handed dialogue but no partner to play off. They told me that Sly, the scriptwriter, would stand in. I had no idea he was an actor, let alone the lead. We exchanged lines, but something felt off. I declared, 'Provide a proper actor and things will go smoother'. Much to my surprise, I still landed the role. I discovered later that Sly remarked after I departed, 'I want this chap, his arrogance resembles Apollo Creed's'." he shared during an interview with The San Diego Union Tribune.

On the whole, Weathers portrayed Creed four times before his character was written off following a bout with Ivan Drago. Intriguingly, when Stallone approached Weathers two decades later regarding using archival footage featuring him for the sixth installation of Rocky, he rejected the idea. He was adamant that his character be revived in some way and that he be able to step in front of the camera again. Stallone deemed this concept absurd and instead engaged a double resembling Weathers for flashback scenes. The stars eventually buried the hatchet several years later.

Weathers' most recent success was his role as the mercenary Greef Karga in the series "The Mandalorian", gaining him an Emmy nomination. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on February 1st. According to the Daily Mail, Carl Weathers' long battle with arteriosclerosis was the direct cause of his passing.