Carl Weathers Gave The Shield One Of Its Most Memorable Guest Stars
We're very sorry to report today that actor Carl Weathers has died at the age of 76. Weathers was most known for his movie career, playing Apollo Creed in the "Rocky" series and Dillon in "Predator" (his handshake with Dutch, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is the stuff GIFs are made of).
But Weathers worked in television as well — and I don't mean just his recent run on "The Mandalorian." One of his most memorable appearances came in "The Shield" season 2 episode "Partners." The cop drama follows the Strike Team, an anti-gang unit in Los Angeles led by Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), with the narrative twist the team is just as dirty and murderous as the criminals they investigate. "The Shield" has plenty of memorable guest stars, from Melanie Lynskey as a killer of the week in season 2, to Forest Whitaker as the antagonist (not the villain) of season 5.
In "Partners," Weathers plays Joe Clark, Mackey's old partner who was forced out of the LAPD — with no pension — after beating suspect Fleetwood Walker (Garland Whitt). When Walker comes on Mackey's radar again, he links up with Joe and helps his partner get the chance at revenge.
This is clever casting, not just "The Shield" throwing around its verified hit status to get a big name as a guest star. Weathers was a charismatic man and played characters with a veneer of coolness. "The Shield" employs that image to subversive ends; we're introduced to Clark through Vic's eyes, and he respects him as a good guy who got a bum deal. In reality, Clark is pretty pathetic and his fall was his own fault; no veteran police officer who beats a suspect has done so only once. It's a testament to Weathers' performance as someone uncool that he got a second guest star spot on the show, in season 6 episode "Haunts."
The Shield isn't a typical cop show
On American television, police procedurals are a dime-a-dozen. "The Shield" stands out because it isn't about flattering its subjects. The Strike Team is downright evil and the LAPD leadership is rotten to the core. Several of the police characters among the supporting cast are more sympathetic, granted. But in a sea of copaganda, "The Shield" is a bastion of brave truth-telling.
In the brilliant finale, "Family Meeting," Vic winds up with a fate much like Clark's: emasculated in a dead-end desk job without a taste of the power he once wielded. It's a totally deserved hell, too. To get immunity, he's confessed to the series' worth of sins we've watched him commit, and finally acknowledged what kind of man he is.
"The Shield" tearing down the idea of the "hero cop" is rather in line with Weathers' most famous role. Despite his muscular body and macho presence (he was a football player before acting), he was never much of a straightforward action hero. "Predator" is a famously subversive action movie, where the arrogant meathead mercenaries are turned into victims when they encounter a force they can't beat. In the "Rocky" movies Apollo Creed is cool and likable, but even so, his role is to be upstaged by an underdog. Weathers even made fun of himself by appearing as himself in "Arrested Development." Though he's hired as Tobias Funke's (David Cross) acting coach, he's really more of a scammer who loves stew.
Part of being an actor is having the humility to take unflattering roles. Weathers had that and plenty of movies and TV shows, "The Shield" included, were better for it. May he rest in peace.