Rocky Balboa
Rocky is the protagonist of the movie. He is an Italian American from the south side of Philadelphia, and is a journeyman boxer; just starting out, but not young enough to be taking boxing as lightly as he seems to be. His is a southpaw which means that he is a left-handed boxer, and therefore more difficult to fight. He has a good reputation as a boxer locally and has even developed a following and a nickname - he is known as The Italian Stallion. Rocky's style of boxing is not pretty, and certainly not stylistic, but he has a seemingly inexhaustible ability to take and absorb punches that would knock another man to the floor.
Rocky has a good amount of self belief and confidence, but he is humble and not over-confident which contrasts him with Apollo Creed. He does not believe that he will win the fight but he does believe he can do better than any other opponent that Creed has faced. He ends up seriously injured, and has a detached retina, which provides one of the most iconic images from the film.
Rocky is not a man of many words but does manage to express himself well to Adrian whom he loves very much. At the end of the fight his main concern is not meeting the press or being with his team but seeing her and telling her how much he loves her.
Apollo Creed
Creed is the heavyweight champion world, and has a heavyweight ego to go with it. He is a skilled, talented boxer with an incredible track record. He has never been taken to the end of a fight and he has never been knocked down, let alone knocked out. When Rocky knocks him to the floor in Round One it is his first knock down and he does not take it very well, feeling humiliated and becoming angry with Rocky.
Creed does not take Rocky seriously because it does not occur to him that he can be beaten by anyone, especially not a local boxer with no experience on the big stage. He does adjust his view of Rocky's abilities after the knock down but not by very much and remains cocky and over-confident to the end of the fight. He is also the consummate showman, entering the arena dressed first as George Washington and subsequently as Uncle Sam, positioning himself as America's Favorite before the bout even begins.
Adrianna Pennino
Known as Adrian, she meets Rocky whilst she is working in a fish food store. She comes from an Italian-American family and has a particularly over protective brother in Paulie. She loves Rocky and falls more deeply for him as his odyssey continues. She is enormously supportive, and his biggest fan but she does not like boxing and is both upset and affected by seeing him injured.
Paulie Pennino
Paulie is a typical overly protective brother in an Italian American family. He has a meat packing business where he allows Rocky to train by punching the animal carcasses. He becomes jealous when Rocky gets the opportunity to fight Apollo Creed and becomes a little combative, but is placated when Rocky offers to use the fight as an opportunity to publicize Paulie's business.
Mickey Goldmill
Mickey was a bantamweight champion in the 1920s. He was respected and successful, and has gone on to open a boxing gym and build a good reputation as a trainer. He has always considered Rocky to have talent and potential but has been frustrated by him because he believes his is waiting his potential and relying on talent rather than putting in hard work. The likelihood of Rocky doing well in the fight raises exponentially once Mickey agrees to train him.
