Apollo's insult

Carl Weathers' audition was incredibly painful but it was his frankness that landed him the role of Apollo Creed as he was unwittingly rude to Sly.

He recalled: "There was nobody to read with, and they said you’re going to read with the writer [Stallone].

"And we read through the scene and at the end of it, I didn’t feel like it had really sailed, that the scene had sailed, and they were quiet and there was this moment of awkwardness, I felt anyway, so I just blurted out 'I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with.'

"So I just insulted the star of the movie without really knowing it and not intending to."

It was this verbal jab that proved to Stallone that Carl had what it took to be Apollo and he was promptly offered the part.