Rocky - Cast

Cast

• Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, an enforcer for a loan shark by day and a semi-pro boxer by night. He is given the chance at the heavyweight title.
• Talia Shire as Adrian Pennino, Rocky's love interest; a quiet pet store clerk who falls in love with Rocky and supports him through his training.
• Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, Adrian's brother; a meat-packing plant worker by trade, Paulie permits Rocky to train in the freezer.
• Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed, Rocky's opponent and heavyweight champion. The character was influenced by the outspoken, real-life boxing great Muhammad Ali.
• Burgess Meredith as Mickey Goldmill, Rocky's manager and trainer, a former bantamweight fighter from the 1920s and the owner of the local boxing gym.
• Thayer David as George Jergens, the fight promoter who has "promoted fights all over the world".
• Joe Spinnell as Tony Gazzo, loan shark and Rocky's employer
• Tony Burton as Tony "Duke" Evers, Apollo Creed's manager and trainer (Burton's role became more prominent in later Rocky films)

Cameo appearances

Boxer Joe Frazier has a cameo appearance in the film. The character of Apollo Creed was influenced by outspoken boxer Muhammad Ali who fought Frazier three times. During the Academy Awards ceremony, Ali and Stallone staged a brief comic confrontation to show Ali was not offended by the film. Some of the plot's most memorable moments—Rocky's carcass-punching scenes and Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as part of his training regime—are taken from the real-life exploits of Joe Frazier, for which he received no credit.

Due to the film's low budget, members of Stallone's family played minor roles. His father rings the bell to signal the start and end of a round, his brother Frank plays a street corner singer, and his first wife, Sasha, was stills photographer. Other cameos include Los Angeles television sportscaster Stu Nahan playing himself, alongside radio and TV broadcaster Bill Baldwin and Lloyd Kaufman, founder of the independent film company Troma, appearing as a drunk. Longtime Detroit Channel 7 Action News anchor Diana Lewis has a small scene as a TV news reporter. Tony Burton appeared as Apollo Creed's trainer, Tony "Duke" Evers, a role he would reprise in the entire Rocky series, though he is not given an official name until Rocky II. Though uncredited, Michael Dorn made his acting debut as Creed's bodyguard.