In this text we will talk about a man who was versatile and who had a very rich career. He had talent both for sport and for art, and many people remember him and give him respect.

We will talk today about Carl Weathers, who was engaged in American football and acting, and is known for several roles in very popular movies. He is now 71 years old, but has left a mark in sports and in acting. He has been featured in many films since 1975, and his most famous role was in Rocky, in which he starred with Sylvester Stallone.

He recorded over 30 films, but also appeared in TV shows and various shows. He has been professionally engaged in football since 1966 to 1975 when he decided to dedicate himself to acting and becoming an actor. He said that he always loved sports and football, but that the acting was also his great love and that he wanted to try to become an actor. After that, he got his first role, and since then, we have seen him in many films, but also in TV shows.

In today’s text we will talk about his early life, but also about his career and also about some details from his private life.

Early Years

Carl Weathers was born January 14, 1948 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He grew up with his father and brother and their father had to do various jobs in order to provide them with a normal life. He was a physical worker and earned daily allowances. They were not sure about their future and that they would be able to live a normal life.

They had to work out and do a variety of jobs. When he finished 8th grade, Carl received an athletic scholarship from St. Augustine High School which was a private school. This was a great opportunity for him because he wanted to become an athlete.

This opportunity was also great for him to help his family in the future and improve financial life. He was talented for all kinds of sports activities. He was great in athletic, boxing, football and he showed great skills. In the beginning he mostly dealt with athletics because he was very fast and durable. After that he increasingly liked football and showed talent for this sport.

He graduated in 1966 and then met the man who promised him to help him to start professional football career. Carl initially did not believe that his dreams would come true, but soon he was given the opportunity to show off his skills. He got the first chance to play for a college team and immediately accepted the call.

He thought that he would succeed in making an excellent career because he was very physically ready and showed talent for this sport. Over the years he had the most support from his family and friends who always believed in his skills. He had a hard life because he did not grow up in wealth, but later he succeeded in securing a good life with his own hard work and persistence.

Career

Carl Weathers started his career as a football player and he thought that he would only deal with this job during his career. He started his career in 1966 playing for a college team called Long Beach City College. During the first game, he experienced a wrist injury and had to miss the entire season. It was very difficult for him because he had to rest for a year.

Afterwards, this team transferred him to the San Diego State University and there he played for the next 2 years. He had excellent cooperation with the then coach and he was given a chance to play in every game. He did not have much success in those seasons, but he showed that he is a team player and that he was very physically ready.

After 2 seasons in this team he went to Oakland Raiders but did not play a lot of matches for this team. After a year, he went to Canada to play for the team of BC Lions and played there until 1973 when he transferred to his last career team. His last team was San Francisco for which he played until the end of 1974 when he decided to finish his career in this sport and to dedicate his career to acting.

Carl started his acting career in 1975 when he got his first role. His first role was in a film that did not become popular and his role was secondary. After that film he received the call of the same year for the role in the new film and he accepted it. He was one of the main roles in this film and this film was much more popular than his first film. After that many people heard about him and he became much more popular than when he played football.

After this, he made another film in 1976, called Friday Foster. This film was also popular for years and Carl played the main role in this film. In the following years he started filming TV shows.

His first role was in a sitcom called Good Times and he appeared in 6 episodes of this series. He played a jealous husband who suspected that his wife was cheating on him. He received many positive comments on this role and the audience loved him. After that, he played supporting roles in several other films and then went on an audition for the film Rocky. He applied for the role of Apollo Creed and he delighted the filmmakers with his sense of acting.

During the audition, he criticized Sylvester’s acting and thought that he could play much better than him. The filmmakers were delighted with his performance and he got a role in this film.

He thrilled the audience with the role in this film and acted in the sequels of this film. He acted in the following parts that emerged in 1972, 1982 and 1985. This film brought him the most popularity because people loved his role. After that he received calls for many films but also series. Carl became popular in acting and many wanted to play in their projects. During the 1980s, he starred in 7 films, and his most famous role was in Predator, in which he starred with future governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This film brought him a lot of popularity and during the vote for the role in this film he advised the audience to vote for him because he is the only black man in this film. Because of this, he received great support from black people who thought his role was the best in this film. After that, he appeared in 2 Michael Jackson’s videos and also participated in popular shows in the USA.

In 1991, he was featured in Happy Gilmore and acted alongside Adam Sandler. This film was very popular in USA and it is considered that this film brought him the most profits in his career. After that he appeared in the videos of well-known singers and received a call for a role in the new series. This series was broadcast from 1995 to 1998 but did not reach great popularity.

From the beginning of his career, Carl earned around $ 4 million in 2000 and he managed to make a big financial profit. With his acting, he managed to achieve success, and it helped him to provide a great financial life. When a new part of the Rocky Balboa film was released in 2006, Sylvester Stallone sought to use images and photos from the last parts of the film.

He wanted to use parts of the film in which Carl appears, as Charles’s character died in 4th part of this film. Carl did not want to agree and wanted to get a role in this movie. Sylvester did not want to accept this because it would not be logical for a character that died in the previous part of the film to appear. For this reason, they used the snapshots of the actor who had appealed to Carl.

Carl Weathers was commenting on some NFL league games in 2017 and gave his expert opinions. He also made a documentary about American football in which he used some moments and footage from his career. This documentary has several episodes and the audience could see many recordings when Carl played football. During 2015 and 2016, he played a supporting role in several Hollywood films.

Personal Life

Carl Weathers had a very interesting and fulfilled life. He had 2 careers and at the beginning he dealt with football, and then he switched to acting. He had many friends during his career and had many girls with whom he was in a relationship.

During the 1980s and ’90s, many newspapers reported that Carl was in relationship with famous singers and actors. He never gave official statements to journalists and always kept his life secret.

He later married and got his first son. He was married until 2004 and then divorced. He and his ex-wife have 2 sons. His sons said that Carl was their greatest role model in life and that they would love to be like him. He always helped his friends and family and people think that Carl is a very good and positive man. He had a very rich career and surely people will always remember him. 

Quick Summary

Full name: Carl Weathers

Date of birth: January, 14 1948

Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Age: 71

Profession:  Football player and actor

Height: 188 cm

Weight: 94 kg

Net Worth: $10 million