Hey young folks! Earlier this week, I got to take part in a roundtable interview with The Falcon himself, Anthony Mackie. He talks about what it’s like interacting with fans, the message of the movie, the double standard for boys and girls plus more!
Having worked both on screen and the stage, Mackie divulged into how the two are different.
“When acting on the big screen, you’re acting for one. And when you’re on stage you’re acting for one person at the very back of the house. On screen, everything is subtle because you’re 60 ft. tall and if you move your eye, that means something. Whereas, if you’re on stage and you move your eye, everyone’s like ‘nope, he ain’t doing nothing.'”
Seeing as though every character from the Marvel universe is getting their own solo movie, Mackie chimed in when asked what he would want in a Falcon solo movie.
“If you look at The Falcon in the comic books, he’s very different than The Falcon in the movies. I would love to see the idea of him being his own man, in his own neighborhood.”
Essentially, the movie is about two characters fighting for what they believe in. In this day in age, everyone has an opinion, but few are willing to listen. Mackie remembers learning “just shut up and listen” in acting school. “The ultimate power is not being a dictator. The ultimate power is being a great listener,” said Mackie.
Shooting this movie in the sweltering heat of Atlanta during the summer proved to be a challenge in its self because of The Falcon’s intricate costume. A fact that Mackie gladly takes, however. “There are a lot worse jobs I could be doing,” said Mackie. “You get to make a superhero movie that everyone is going to like, and you get to go to Target and see your face on a kiosk, and get to buy a superhero that looks like you. Boo hoo.”
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Civil War has its fair share of superheroes facing off, but there’s one in particular that Mackie wouldn’t have mind seeing in the movie.
“I’m a Hulk fan. I love the incredible Hulk. When I was a kid, I use to break all my stuff and scream ‘Smash!’ I understand Hulk wasn’t in this movie, but I would love to see a Falcon and Hulk movie. Mark Ruffalo is the perfect Hulk, so it works.”
You often hear actors saying how much they don’t like watching their movies. But not Anthony Mackie. He can easily watch them as I fanboy. “I love watching my movies,” he said. When I’m on an airplane, I watch all of them. I have like three movies on every airplane. I just flew from L.A. to Beijing, and literally had like five movies on the airplane.”
Mackie feels lucky to do what he does. And every movie he’s done, there’s a reason for it. Besides doing Civil War because, as Mackie said, Marvel told him to and it’s in his contract, it is a very timely movie. The film falls on an election year and aligns with the idea of citizens fighting for their civil liberties. “Do you want to be governed, or do you want to choose for yourself?,” asked Mackie.
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When asked if he was #TeamIronman or #TeamCap as an audience member, Mackie answered, “100% #TeamIronman.” “I’m old. I don’t want to think about it.” I, for one, was surprised by his answer. “I want you to tell me when to do it and what to do.”
As we know, Marvel fans can be, shall we say, intense. Mackie said he can be more intense. “There’s nothing scarier than a black dude looking at you with his fist balled up. Every time somebody come up to, I just look at them crazy.”
In the age of everyone getting offended by everything and anything, one wonders how the Twitterverse takes that. “They tweet ‘oh he was so mean to me,’ and I’m like ‘why you didn’t say I was mean to my face, homie?'”
While it’s mostly accepted for girls to dress up as male superheroes, the flip side of that, is a little fuzzy. Mackie said he would like people to see these characters as superhumans, and not supermen and women. He asked the room “Would you let your son be Cinderella?” There was silence. Finally, I said, “It’s a double standard.” “There you go!” Said Mackie. “You have to ask yourself that question: If you’re willing to fight for your daughter to be Spider-man, why aren’t you willing to fight for your son to be Cinderella?”
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Captain America: Civil War it out NOW!
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