INTERVIEW: ANTHONY MACKIE, THE FALCON
Q: Did he give you some key insights into how he thought you should play this character?
Mackie: Nah. His big thing was The Falcon started off one way and then he became a character that was about dignity and respect and honor. So, play it more as a strong man, as opposed to a comic book character.
Q: What can you tell us about your wings?
Mackie: I have no idea. I’ve seen as much of the wings as you have. I’m very interested to see – every now and then they bring up these three-foot wings that I am hoping are gonna turn into like a six-foot wings, but I’m not sure how that works. So, they’re in a case on set and every now and then they break them out and flap them. Literally, some dude stands there like this. So, I’m guessing they’re gonna put ’em on me, but I have no idea.
Q: We’ve heard a lot about the tone of this movie and how it’s different. As an outsider, how would you describe it?
Mackie: The great thing about this movie and the theme, it’s really come across to me as like Avengers 1.5. Because if you look at the cast, I mean, we have Sam Jackson and Robert Redford. And what they’ve been able to do with the script, as well as with the Russo Brothers directing it, is ground the movie in a really humane three-dimensional reality. So, you have characters like me. You have characters like Frank Grillo and Robert Redford’s character that we, as normal people, can relate to. I feel like a lot of superhero movies, it’s hard to get in – a lot of the movies that Marvel does not do its hard to get into because it’s just a bunch of superheroes running around doing superhero sh*t. But I feel like with this movie, you can look at certain characters and identify with those characters, so it pulls you into the movie. And the way it’s written it’s just a very grounded actual kind of realistic story. Just with a dude in a blue suit running around with a shield.
And a guy with wings. What’s so funny is it’s kind of in a theme, not so much Bourne, but like when you watch a Bourne movie that aspect of just intense action that you get as well as gritty dark story. That’s kind of how the vein of this movie works and the stories told. But, you know, with me, what I love is The Falcon kind of lived in three different incarnations. There was the first incarnation where he had on a black and green suit, and he was a drug-dealing pimp from Harlem that crashed going down to Brazil to pick up drugs and became a superhero. Okay. And then there was…
Q: Well, have you done what will maybe the most challenging sort of physical stunt that you’ll have to do for the movie so far?
Mackie: Well, the first day we shot, they had me jumping backwards off of a 30-foot platform head first into the pavement. That was about it. And they’re like, “Don’t worry, we’ll catch you before you hit the ground.” I’m like, “All right.” So this is my first day. I didn’t have rehearsal. I didn’t have stunt training. I didn’t have anything. They’re like, “No, no, no, just stand back – run, turn around at the edge of a platform and jump backwards and shoot your guns over your head while you’re going back.” So I doubt if we’re using that footage. But that was definitely the hardest day I’ve had.
Q: How much of the origin story do we actually get to see, or are you The Falcon right from the…?
Mackie: In this movie, not so much Falcon, it’s more so Sam Wilson. They’ve, you know, because of the way it’s written in the comic book and him having so many incarnations, they kind of used this movie to establish my character and my relationship with Black Widow and, you know, Captain, and Sam Jackson’s character, Nick Fury. So, it’s more that I learn as I go. So, hopefully in part three, or Avengers 2, you’ll be able to see my character really become the three-dimensional part of the Avengers group. Note to Marvel.
