Carl Weathers^†

Walking into the Rocky audition, he told Sylvester Stallone his acting was weak. The producers hired him on the spot. As Apollo Creed, Weathers brought a swagger and physical credibility that made the franchise work: a real threat, not a setup man. He played the character across four films, peaking (and dying) in Rocky IV. Then came Predator (1987), where his arm-flexing handshake with Arnold Schwarzenegger became one of the most-memed moments in 80s action history.

At 71, he joined The Mandalorian as Greef Karga and gave the role more texture than the script required. Jon Favreau kept expanding the part because the writers loved what Weathers did with it. He then directed two episodes of the series and earned an Emmy nomination in 2021.

After watching Weathers perform in Shakespeare's Othello, John Madden told him he was 'too sensitive' for football and should pursue acting. Madden wasn't wrong. Weathers had been playing linebacker for the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent while earning his drama degree at San Francisco State during off-seasons. He played three more years in the CFL, walked away from sports, and two years later landed Apollo Creed.

Tributes came across every franchise he'd touched. Sylvester Stallone posted a video calling him 'an intricate part of my life, my success, everything about it.' Arnold Schwarzenegger said 'we couldn't have made Predator without him.' His Greef Karga character will not appear in The Mandalorian & Grogu film, and the standalone Greef Karga prequel he'd been developing never reached production.