‘Captain America: Brave New World’ star Anthony Mackie said that his race has not stopped him from getting or pursuing major roles in Hollywood.
Mackie spoke to Deadline, in an interview published Tuesday, about taking over the titular role, once played by actor Chris Evans, for the upcoming fourth installment of the Captain America film franchise.
Mackie said that when he first joined the Marvel universe in 2014 playing the character of Sam Wilson, he never imagined he’d one day play Captain America.
“I never saw the Marvel Universe without Chris Evans. I mean, Chris Evans was the face, just like Robert Downey Jr. was the face of Marvel. So it was never an idea of, ‘Oh, one day I’m going to grow to be Captain America,’” he said.
When Deadline asked if it was because he is Black, Mackie responded, “No, it was never the idea of me being Black that was in question or the hindrance. I’ve worked my entire career being Black.”
He continued: “I’ve never had an issue with being limited because of the color of my skin. And if I came across someone who limited me because of the color of my skin, I disassociated that person from my career.”
The actor went on to explain how he was able to convince director Kathryn Bigelow to cast him for a larger role in the 2008 Oscar-winning war film, “The Hurt Locker.”
While his character was originally written for a White actor, Mackie said he convinced Bigelow to cast him in the role, arguing that “war doesn’t know race” and that the film was about “brotherhood as opposed to race.”
“But all through my career, there’s been roles that were written for White actors that I subsequently was able to do because the director was open-minded about the idea of seeing somebody else in a role,” he continued.
Mackie said that he seeks out roles based on their quality not on the character’s race.
“That’s the way I want my roles to be. I want to do great roles, not because they’re Black, but I want to do great roles because they’re great roles,” he said in the interview.
The “Captain America” star stirred controversy while on the press tour for the film last month when he said his character should not represent America.
“Captain America represents a lot of different things and I don’t think the term ‘America’ should be one of those representations. It’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity and integrity. Someone who is trustworthy and dependable,” he said while promoting the film in Rome, Italy on January 27.
After the comments went viral, Mackie clarified his remarks.
“Let me be clear about this, I’m a proud American and taking on the shield of a hero like CAP is the honor of a lifetime,” Mackie wrote in comments shared to his Instagram account. “I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country. CAP has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to.”
Mackie has previously starred in “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Captain America: Winter Soldier,” and “Captain America: Civil War.” His character, Sam Wilson, is also known as Falcon, a frequent companion to Steve Rogers, the civilian identity who originally became Captain America.
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“Captain America: Brave New World” is set to release in theaters on February 14, 2025.
Fox News’ Jeffrey Clark contributed to this article.
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