Anthony Mackie (Finn) trained at the Juilliard School of Drama. After receiving
rave reviews playing Tupac Shakur in the off-Broadway production “Up Against
the Wind,” Mackie made his feature-film debut as Eminem’s nemesis, Papa Doc, in
Curtis Hanson’s “8 Mile.” Spike Lee subsequently cast Mackie in the 2004
Toronto Film Festival Masters Program selection “Sucker Free City” and “She
Hate Me.” He also appeared in Clint Eastwood’s Academy Award®-winning
“Million Dollar Baby” and Jonathan Demme’s “The Manchurian Candidate.”
Mackie
earned IFP Spirit and Gotham Award nominations for his performance in Rodney
Evans’ “Brother to Brother.” In 2005, he appeared in “Heavens Fall,” which
premiered at the 2006 SXSW Film Festival in Austin.
In
2009, Mackie was seen as Sgt. J.T. Sanborn in Kathryn Bigelow’s Academy
Award®–winning “The Hurt Locker” (Best Picture), a performance that earned
Mackie an Independent Spirit Award nomination. That same year, Mackie revisited
the role of Tupac Shakur in Fox Searchlight’s “Notorious,” the biopic of
Notorious B.I.G. He also starred as Maj. William Bowman in DreamWorks Studios’
“Eagle Eye.”
Last
year, Mackie returned to Broadway, starring in Martin McDonough’s “A Beheading
in Spokane.” He also starred with Kerry Washington in the drama “Night Catches
Us.” Most recently, Mackie was seen in Universal Pictures’ “The Adjustment
Bureau” and can be seen in the upcoming film “Man on a Ledge,” which will be
released on January 13, 2012.
Mackie
recently wrapped the films “Ten Year” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and
is currently filming a pair of projects: the psychological thriller “Vipaka”
with Forest Whitaker and the much-anticipated Ruben Fleischer film “Gangster
Squad,” which also stars Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn. His other feature-film
credits include “We Are Marshall,” “Half Nelson,” “Crossover,” “Haven” and
“Freedomland.”
A: I haven’t had the opportunity yet in my career to really do
anything rambunctious and outlandish. When I read the script, I was like, “It’s
time to have some fun.”
Q: Is
there something specific you look for in the roles you choose?
A: I just always look for something
different, weird and creative. I feel like I’m blessed because I get to do what
I love. Why wouldn’t I go to work and have a good time and enjoy myself and do
something different and challenge myself? Johnny Depp shouldn’t be the only
dude having fun doing this.
Q: Were
you inspired by Don King for your character or did you want to add a whole new
spin to your character?
A: Finn is 100 percent Don King. When I
was in high school I read a story about Don King and he said, “Set yourself on
fire and the world will pay to watch you burn.” I thought that was the most
amazing thing I’d ever heard. I wrote it on my wall and everything.
I feel
like there’s an element of Don King that a lot of people don’t really pay
attention to. Besides Muhammad Ali, he’s the second most charismatic and
influential figure in the world of boxing. A lot of people take that for
granted because of all the crazy stuff he has said and all of the words he made
up, but I really feel like there is something beautiful about the art and craft
he brought to boxing. He also turned it into a billion dollar business. I tried
to turn Finn into that kind of character in case there’s a sequel so I could
finally get Don King’s hair. I asked Shawn Levy for his hair in this one, but
he said no.
Q: You’ve
been quoted as saying that you were a bit intimidated when you first saw a
robot that was built for the film. Can you talk about that experience?
A: It’s not every day you see an almost
nine-foot tall robot just standing there. I mean, when I go to certain
nightclubs or bars and see a six-foot-four black dude, I’m used to that. But when
I see a nine-foot tall animatronics robot and he lifts his arm and puts it
down, it’s very intimidating at first. I call it the Jack Bauer effect. When
something is in the room and it’s not normal, I wait for that thing to go crazy
and kill everybody in the room. Or it’s like going to somebody’s house and they
have a Great Dane on the rug. It’s “Nice doggie” until he gets up and mauls my
face. That’s how I looked at the robots.
Q: What
was it like working with Hugh Jackman?
A: Hugh’s a great guy. We had a lot of fun
and he was always open and responsive and really cool. The dude doesn’t have a negative
bone in his body. It’s weird for somebody to play Wolverine and not be a rugby-playing,
crazy dude but he’s not at all. That shows his versatility as an actor but also
his humility as a human being.
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