Page 78 - Sharp Summer 2021

8 Mile is often credited as Mackie’s first film role, but in reality, it was Brother to Brother, an indie that premiered at Sundance in 2004. (Its budget was so small that it ran out of money halfway through filming. Production paused and Mackie filmed 8 Mile.) After 21 years as an actor, Mackie still thinks his performance as Perry, an art student disowned by his family for being gay, is his best work yet. It was certainly formative: acting alongside Tony Award–winner Roger Robinson helped Mackie differentiate between acting for the stage and the screen. “My first day on set, we do a scene, and Roger pulls me to the side and goes, ‘Anthony, you have to remember, your face is going to be 10 storeys high.’ He was like, ‘I can hear what you’re thinking from over here. Stop acting’,” recalls Mackie. “Everyday he was giving me lessons — jewels — about how to perform on film, instead of the almost absurdity of acting on the stage, because when you act on the stage, you’re acting for the people in the back of the house. When you’re acting on film, you’re acting for the people in the front row.”
Mackie credits his theatre education for his ver- satility as an actor. It’s why his performances — like that of Sergeant J.T. Sanborn in Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker, perhaps his most acclaimed to date — are dynamic and nuanced. In one scene, Sanborn suggests “accidentally” killing the film’s protagonist. In a vacu- um, it’s a villainous act, but Sanborn isn’t a villain; his actions are mitigated by his desire for self-preservation. Mackie’s performance oozes depth appropriate for the moral complexity and delirium of war. Although he wasn’t nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance (The Hurt Locker netted nine nomi- nations and won six, including best picture), Mackie suspects it’s ultimately what landed him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe four years later.
Speaking to Mackie, I’m curious to know what drew him, a trained stage actor, to strapping on a set of me- chanical wings. In 2019, Martin Scorsese caused a mi- nor furor when he said that superhero movies weren’t cinema, but “theme parks” that prioritize spectacle at the expense of storytelling and character. Mackie’s
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