Upon its release, Creed III quickly became one of the highest-rated sports movies of 2023. Centered around Adonis Creed’s childhood friend and former boxing phenom Damian’s release from prison and attempt to restart his career, the two square off in a battle with sizable future implications. Michael B. Jordan portrays Creed and also serves as a producer on the film, and throughout the production process, emphasized authenticity. As a result, Jordan enlisted the help of media personalities in the world of boxing to provide the movie with the sound and parlance of one of America’s most popular sports.
One of the featured commentators in the film was Chris Mannix, who currently works as a senior writer at Sports Illustrated and as a commentator at DAZN. Mannix worked alongside his real-life broadcast partner, Todd Grisham, and ultimately received about 30 seconds of camera time, significantly more than he expected. Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb asked Mannix about his experience being on set and shooting the film on their Tuesday morning program – the second filmography distinction of his career.
“It was pretty cool to get the opportunity,” Mannix said on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “They gave us a script, and he basically allowed [us] to rewrite it to make it seem authentic [and] say things we would actually say during a fight. I thought that was a pretty cool move by Michael as well.”
Toucher proceeded to question Mannix as to whether or not he had received a royalty check from the Screen Actors Guild in the mail for his role in the film. Before Creed III, Mannix starred in Real Steel, a futuristic film centered around the sport of robot boxing.
“Every so often, I would get a minuscule check from that – like a dollar or something like that based on [it],” Mannix said. “Maybe down the line, I’ll see a couple of bucks.”
Since Creed III is available to watch and stream on multiple OTT platforms, Mannix finds himself receiving three to four messages per week containing a screenshot from his cameo in the movie. Yet he does not remember all of the people reaching out to him, and it is unknowingly opening the door to rekindle lost relationships.
“You get a text message from a number you haven’t seen in years, and it’s like, ‘Alright,’” Mannix described. “I always have a stock answer of, ‘Thanks man, talk soon.’”
“Those females are like, ‘All of a sudden Mannix is a little more attractive,’” Toucher replied.
