Friends and former co-stars took to social media after news broke that Emmy nominee Carl Weathers had died in his sleep Thursday, February 1, at 76.
In a video shot in front of a LeRoy Neiman painting of Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed clashing in the ring, an emotional Sylvester Stallone expressed, “I’m so torn up, I can’t even tell you.”
Stallone said Weathers was “such an integral part of my life,” adding, “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.”
He captioned the video by saying, “My life was forever changed for the better the day I met Carl Weathers. Rest in power and keeping punching.”
Michael B. Jordan, who played Adonis Creed, son of Weathers’ Apollo, in the Rocky spin-off franchise Creed, also called the actor “a legend.”
Weathers’ Happy Gilmore co-star Adam Sandler called him, “A true great man,” noting he was a, “Great dad. Great actor. Great athlete. So much fun to be around always. Smart as hell. Loyal as hell.”
Adam added in part, “Everyone loved him.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who starred with Weathers in Predator, called the late actor “a legend,” and “An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person,” adding, “We couldn’t have made Predator without him. And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it. Every minute with him – on set and off – was pure joy.”
Another Predator co-star, Jesse Ventura, called Weathers “an icon,” and a “phenomenal talent, a true professional, and a dear friend.”
The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal posted a throwback photo of Weathers, adding a heartbroken emoji and simply, “Words fail.”
Mando co-star Giancarlo Esposito called Weathers “a dear friend and brother” and “one of the most wonderful human beings” he’d ever met.
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