Carl Weathers, who died Thursday at age 76, made his name as the formidable boxing adversary Apollo Creed in the Rocky films. But it was his career pivot with the 1996 Adam Sandler comedy Happy Gilmore that made him newly relevant to a younger generation. As it turns out, his road to landing in the beloved comedy was an unlikely one.
Dennis Dugan — who directed Happy Gilmore, in addition to such other comedy hits as Problem Child, Big Daddy and the Grown Ups films — tells The Hollywood Reporter that Weathers “literally couldn’t be a nicer guy, and he was so Chubbs. Nobody else could have ever been Chubbs but him.” The film centers on Sandler’s title character, who can’t hack it as a hockey player but becomes a surprising golf sensation, thanks to his monster drives and the assistance of his mentor, Derick “Chubbs” Peterson.
Dugan recalls wanting to cast Christopher McDonald as memorable villain Shooter McGavin, and that when he reached out to McDonald’s agent, the rep suggested another client for a different role. Dugan remembers being confused about the suggestion that Weathers would play former golf pro Chubbs, given that the actor was previously an NFL player and known for more macho roles.
“He said, ‘I have another client, Carl Weathers, and he’d love to read for this,’” the filmmaker shares. “And I said, ‘Isn’t he a football player guy?’ He said, ‘Yeah, but he really wants to read for it.’ And I understood the subtext being, ‘Read Carl, and I can get you Chris McDonald,’” Dugan says with a chuckle.
Carl Weathers and Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore
Courtesy of Everett Collection
The director remembers relaying the situation to a puzzled Sandler. “Adam goes, ‘Oh, man, I don’t know. I didn’t picture that,’” Dugan says. Luckily, everyone agreed to give Weathers a shot, and the rest is history: “He comes in…
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