Carl Weathers | Actor Appreciation

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Next release: MAY 17 | 4 PM EDT

THE MAN OF MANY TALENTS: CARL WEATHERS

Most known for his portrayal of Apollo Creed, Colonel Al Dillion, and Greef Karga, Carl Weathers is a veteran actor. However, acting is only one of his skills and jobs over his established career. You may not have known that when he was younger, and before his time as an actor, Carl Weathers played professional football as a Linebacker for the Oakland Raiders.

In addition to his time on the field, he was also in the directorial chair of many episodes for TV Shows such as Renegade, Silk Stockings, Hawaii 5-0, The Mandalorian, Law and Order, FBI, and many more. He has also had a hand in producing, writing, and as a voice over director for other projects.

With that being said, let us take the time to appreciate the man of many talents as we look at his extensive career that spans five decades.

MISSIONS AND BOUNTIES

Played by Carl Weathers, Greef Karga was a former disgraced magistrate who became an agent of the Bounty Hunters' Guild following the collapse of the Galactic Empire. Initially, Greef Karga was supposed to play a smaller part and Carl Weathers had accepted the role as a favor to creator Jon Favreau. While originally planned to die from Din Djarin's blaster shot in the show's third episode, "The Sin", after Carl Weathers' first reading as the character, Jon Favreau and Producer Dave Filoni began to reconsider the extent of the character's role in the show.

Since this change, Greef Karga has become an important reoccurring character in The Mandalorian. In the "Cast" episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, Carl Weathers makes a comparison of Greef Karga to "a combination of John Huston and Orson Welles".

Directing the Mandalorian

In The Mandalorian, Carl Weathers has also directed the episode "The Siege" from Season 2 (with rumors swirling that he is directing an episode for Season 3). With 25 years on shows ranging from Silk Stalkings to Hawaii Five-0 under his belt, Carl Weathers is no stranger to the role. What he found most challenging directing "was keeping people engaged, wanting to know what's going to happen next. And when you find out what's really involved here, you finally get to, 'Oh man, this thing is much bigger than we thought.'"

During his time in the director’s chair, an important thing he pushed for in his direction "was diversity among an already diverse show."

"For me, it can be something as simple as casting background. I wanna see a really diverse [background] And when I say diverse, I'm not just talking about the color of a person's skin. I wanna see height. I wanna see somebody who's got a limb missing. I wanna see in an albino, I wanna see small people, I wanna see children. I wanna see anything that we have experienced in the world to be in that universe, because they're disparate creatures coming from every part of the universe. So why wouldn't they be there? Why would it be this kind of homogenized world? That to me isn't Star Wars at all. And that's what I find fascinating and great about it."

FOOTBALL CAREER

Did you know that Carl Weathers used to play football? From San Diego State University to the Oakland Raiders to the BC Lions, Carl Weathers used to be a Linebacker back in his day.