Anthony Mackie
Spotlight By: Benjamin Lee
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Chances are you know Anthony Mackie without really knowing his name. He was the cocky boxer in Million Dollar Baby, a murdered soldier in The Manchurian Candidate, the lead in Spike Lee's She Hate Me plus has had roles in 8 Mile, Freedomland and most recently Half Nelson.
This month, he's finally going to start receiving the attention he's long deserved with his turn in the new football drama We Are Marshall. It tells the true story of how a small town rebuilt their football team and their spirit when tragedy struck. For most of the cast they had the chance to speak to their real-life counterparts to gain an insight into their characters. For Mackie however, the character he was playing had died and so he had to use the word of his team-mates and family to guide him.
'Everybody had some information that they were willing to share' Mackie recalls, 'I had Easter dinner with his family and they gave me a lot of information. You learn more about someone from what people say about them from what they say about themselves. The only negative thing somebody said about him was that when he played football he was too serious.' For Mackie, playing football day in and day out meant he had a rigorous schedule.
'I played football when I was younger' he admits, 'But these were professional players. I wanted them to know I wasn't some US weekly actor from LA. I was trying to be part of the world. I tried to give 110%.' The film is directed by McG, better known for his, ahem, less subtle works such as Charlie's Angels and ermmm Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Mackie, however, is full of praise for the young director. 'It was a great experience to work with McG' he gushes, 'The thing about directors is you have the process-oriented director or the result-oriented director. McG has this uncanny ability to do both.'
For his next movie, Mackie is taking on the role of another true-life sports star. This time, he'll be playing legendary athlete Jesse Owens. It's a role Mackie is thrilled to be playing. 'I feel like it's the role of a lifetime' he shares, 'After playing Jesse Owens I feel like I can retire and move to Miami. Other than Mohammed Ali, I feel like he's the greatest sports figure in the history of the world. I was moved to tears when I got the call asking me to play him.' It's a role which will require even more physical training and Mackie is already preparing. 'I've hired a trainer and a nutritionist and I'm running 5 miles each day!'
It's a dream role for the rising star but he admits the competition wasn't as fierce as you'd expect. 'The black male under 30 talent pool is very small' he states, 'There's about 4 names. So whenever projects come up, my agent is on it. My career is 100% because of my team that I've been able to put together. They're on top of everything.' They've managed to get him a wide variety of roles so far, on stage and on screen. Mackie believes his versatility is his unique selling point. 'One of the most important things for me was to separate myself from everyone else' he believes, 'If there's someone else out there that can do Shakespeare, hip hop and 1970s West Virginia then I'll shake his hand.'
It's been a mixed year for Mackie. His hometown of New Orleans is still in recovery after last year's tragedy, and it's something that has been an obvious concern to him. 'It's affected me in a monumental way' he tells, 'It's let me know that all this is make believe. I'm very proud to say that I'm from New Orleans because of the way the people in the city stood up. The sad thing about New Orleans is that the private money is there but the Government money isn't. 85% of the hotels there are open but only 23% of the schools are open.'
But this year has also seen him starring in the hugely successful indie, Half Nelson. The film has garnered rave reviews, as well as some awards, especially for Mackie's co-star Ryan Gosling. 'It just goes to show you that you don't need $200 million to make a great movie' he smiles, 'I'm so happy for Ryan. I think he's that great actor we've been looking for for the past 15 years.' While there is certainly praise for Gosling, others are tipping Mackie for big things, although he remains grounded about all the hype.
'The way I look at it is, if I show up everyday and do what I'm supposed to do, be diligent, be respectful and do my work then sooner or later it'll pay off' he says, 'I'm living a dream'
