Sylvester Stallone recently paid tribute today to Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films and died Thursday at 76.
In an emotional Instagram video post, the three-time Oscar nominee remembered his longtime friend in a sometimes-quivering voice: “”My life was forever changed for the better the day I met Carl Weathers. … He was magic, and I was fortunate to be part of his life. … Rest in power and keep punching.”
Standing in front of an abstract painting from their Rocky days in the ring, Stallone says in the video: “Hello, everyone. Today is an incredibly sad day for me. … Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life which he says everything about it. I give him incredible credit …. because when he walked into that room, and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness, but I didn’t realize how great. I never could have accomplished what we did with Rocky without him. He was absolutely great. His voice, his size, his power, his athletic ability, but more importantly, his heart, his soul.”
Sylvester Stallone was a relatively unknown actor and screenwriter when he and Carl Weathers first worked together. This was in the famous 1976 sports drama movie, Rocky, which won three Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. Stallone was also nominated for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay for his work in the movie.
Weathers played the role of Apollo Creed, the charismatic and confident heavyweight champion who decides to give a local underdog a chance to fight for the title. Stallone’s character, Rocky Balboa, becomes the chosen one partly because of his nickname, “The Italian Stallion.”
