"He was magic...": Sylvester Stallone pays glowing tribute to Carl Weathers

Actor Sylvester Stallone paid tribute to his longtime friend and Rocky costar Carl Weathers who died on Thursday at the age of 76 Weathers was known for playing boxer Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films according to VarietyHe took to Instagram to share a video on his lifelong collaboration with Weathers which began with the Rocky series and continued for decades The actor delivered the statement while standing in front of a painting of their characters Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed facing off in the ringView this post on InstagramA post shared by Sly Stallone officialslystalloneToday is an incredibly sad day for me Im so torn up I cant even tell you Im just trying to hold it in because Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life my success everything about it I give him incredible credit and kudos Because when he walked into that room and I saw him for the first time I saw greatness But I didnt realize how great Stallone said I never couldve accomplished what we did with Rocky without himHe was absolutely brilliant his voice his size his presence his athletic ability but most importantly his heart his soul Its a horrible loss Stallone said He was magic I was so fortunate to be part of his life Apollo keep punchingWeathers played Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films when he constantly fights Stallones titular boxer in the ring Though Creed dies in Rocky IV Weathers legacy in the franchise continues in the sequel series Creed starring Michael B Jordan as Creeds sonAccording to Variety Weathers and Stallone reunited at the 2017 Golden Globes where the duo presented the final award of the night I cant believe its been 40 years since Rocky Weathers said to which Stallone jabbedYeah and I cant believe I let you win the fight considering I wrote the screenplayIt was at the Santa Barbara Film Festival a year prior when Weathers gave Stallone his prize He clearly knows that Im a fan Weathers said adding I have such admiration and appreciation for all that very first screenplay allowed me So what can I say except he deserved the award and I have tremendous gratitude for being a part of the whole adventureApart from Sylvester other actors also took to social media to pay tribute to the late actor including Adam Sandler and Pedro PascalA true great man Great dad Great actor Great athlete So much fun to be around always Sandler wrote of Weathers whose shared credits include Happy Gilmore Little Nicky and Eight Crazy Nights Smart as hell Loyal as hell Funny as hell Loved his sons more than anything What a guy Everyone loved him My wife and I had the best times with him every time we saw him Love to his entire family and Carl will always be known as a true legendPedro Pascal who played opposite Weathers in Disneys The Mandalorian shared a photo of the late actor on Instagram with the caption Words failRobert Rodriguez who directed Weathers in the Star Wars spinoff series commented Will miss the great Carl Weathers who I was very fortunate to work with on several occasions A very kind and generous person His performances were always electrifying and he was also a terrific director of both stage and screenBorn in 1948 in New Orleans Weathers played professional football before breaking out as an actor with small roles in Arthur Marks blaxploitation movies Bucktown and Friday Foster as well as TV series including Good Times Kung Fu Cannon and Starsky and HutchHis career forever changed when he was cast opposite Stallone in Rocky and Weathers would go on to star alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator and earn a Primetime Emmy nomination for The Mandalorian of which he also directed two episodes reported VarietyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever