Film

Carl Weathers, actor who appeared in Rocky and Predator films, dies aged 76

Family statement said Weathers, who began acting after retiring from professional football, died ‘peacefully in his sleep’

Carl Weathers was best known for playing Apollo Creed alongside Sylvester Stallone in the first four Rocky films. Photograph: Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP

Benjamin Lee
Fri Feb 2 2024 - 20:14

Carl Weathers, the actor whose credits include Rocky and Predator, has died at 76.

His family released a statement through his agent to announce that he died “peacefully in his sleep” on February 1st.

“Carl was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life,” the statement continued. “Through his contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, he has left an indelible mark and is recognised worldwide and across generations. He was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, partner and friend.”

Weathers was best known for playing Apollo Creed alongside Sylvester Stallone in the first four Rocky films. Footage of Weathers was also used in the Creed films led by Michael B Jordan.

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After becoming a college football star in the 1960s and retiring from a professional career in the early 1970s, Weathers began acting in blaxploitation cinema with small roles in Bucktown and Friday Foster.

“I was bitten by the bug, as they say,” Weathers said in 2023. “On stage having people laugh at the good lines and applaud at the end – it’s pretty, pretty infectious. Once that bug gets inside you, it’s kind of hard to give it up.”

His breakout became in 1976’s Rocky taking on a role initially intended for the real-life boxer Ken Norton. He allegedly got the role after criticising Stallone’s acting in his audition. “Sometimes the mistakes are the ones that get you the gig,” he said in 2015.

In 2020 he said about playing a boxer: “It was hard to escape taking punches on set. There were times when intentionally we went at each other. I was always concerned that if I hit Sly, threw a punch right, it might hurt. And there was no reason for that. And I think he was pretty much the same way.”

Weathers then took roles in the next three Rocky movies, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987’s Predator and the lead in 1988’s Action Jackson.

In the following decade he acted with Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore and went on to appear in Arrested Development as an acting coach and the voice of Combat Carl in Toy Story 4.

His most recent roles included Greef Karga in The Mandalorian which scored him an Emmy nomination for outstanding guest actor in a drama series. He also directed two episodes.

“I’ve loved my time on the show; it has given me an opportunity to be creative in a much more complete way than I had been prior to in other projects,” he said in 2021. “It has been a great experience, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”

He is survived by two sons. – AP

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