Stephan James might want to work on his bicep game, because he’s just landed the coveted role of Carl Weathers in Peter Farrelly’s upcoming biopic, I Play Rocky, starring Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone.
James will play Weathers, who starred as Apollo Creed in the original Rocky film in 1976. He would reprise the role three more times, with Creed becoming Rocky’s best friend until his death at the fists of Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. The Creed character would then serve as the launching pad for the Michael B. Jordan boxing drama franchise many years later.
The role of Apollo Creed was huge for Weathers, and sent his career to the moon. He would go on to star in Predator, Action Jackson, and much later, The Mandalorian.
Written by Peter Gamble, I Play Rocky centers on Stallone who, as a struggling unknown actor, took control of his career by writing himself the perfect role. But he refused to sell the boxing drama to any studio unless he was able to play Rocky himself. Obviously, that turned out pretty well as it won ten Academy Awards.
James has become an expert at embodying legendary figures in critically acclaimed dramas. He played civil rights icon John Lewis in Selma, and Jesse Owens in Race. He also starred in If Beale Street Could Talk and The Piano Lesson.
