Sylvester Stallone Details His First Encounter with Carl Weathers and His Wild ROCKY Audition for Apollo Creed
Earlier this month, legendary actor Carl Weathers passed away at the age of 76. Weathers was best known for his unforgettable role as Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise, as well as roles in Predator, The Mandalorian, Happy Gilmore, Action Jackson, and so many more, totaling over 75 films and TV shows throughout his career.
While his role in Rocky wasn’t his first acting gig, it was certainly his biggest, and the one that made him a household name. His Rocky co-star and writer of the film Sylvester Stallone recently sat down on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (via CinemaBlend) and talked about Weathers’ audition, and why his brash introduction got him the role. Stallone said:
“He was magnificent. Rocky was a compilation of really great actors, some were born to play those parts. And I couldn’t fill that [Apollo Creed role], because it required athleticism, brains, spirit, talent, speed. [Carl] had it all. I mean, he had it all. But the best thing is the first day he came in to read. Actually, it was at night, and we were at wit’s end, because we couldn’t find anyone. They had taken him off a Piper Cub going to Oakland, because he lived in Oakland. And he was, at that time, still playing for [the] Oakland Raiders as a linebacker, so you know he’s fit. He comes in, he goes, ‘Oh god, this better be good.’ And like, he was in a bad mood. And I’m going, ‘Perfect, check that. Bad mood. I like that. Big voice. He’s coming at me.’ Then we read, and he’s going, ‘ Oh my god, if you could get me a real actor, I could perform.’ ‘That loser, that’s Rocky.’ … And then I stood up, and [he] literally took his shirt off. And I went, ‘Oh my god, am I in trouble.’ Because I kinda looked like Pooh bear at the time. I did, and he looked like Adonis. And he banged about three shots off my forehead, and I went, ‘[Groans] Hired.’”
That’s a pretty wild audition story! And it was a big swing for Weathers to come in hot and aggressive toward the people he wanted to hire him, but in this particular case, it paid off, and made for a great story.