Who doesn’t want to be in a Marvel Comics movie? Because of the interlocking nature of the Avengers universe, by appearing in one film you never know if your character will end up popping up in other films (look at Clark Gregg, for example — from a bit part in Iron Man to starring in a TV series!).
Anthony Mackie has that opportunity because he’ll be starring in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as The Falcon, one of Captain America’s most trusted allies.
In an interview with MTV about the role, Mackie admits he has wanted to star in a Marvel film for years and signed for the film even though he couldn’t read the script and, after finally getting a chance after reading it, finding out he was mislead about the part!
Mackie reveals that he wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to being cast in one of Marvel’s movies. In fact, he tells MTV that he contacted the studio “Once a month, for three years” to see if they had anything for him. It finally paid off when he was offered an audition for Iron Man 3, though he wasn’t cast. But six months later he met with the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Anthony and Joe Russo, although he wasn’t told exactly what role he was auditioning for.
In fact, Mackie wasn’t even allowed to look at the script for the audition. He reveals that he was told he could only read the script if he signed for the movie, but figured he had nothing to lose. He explains, “And then I went and thought about it… It is Marvel, and all of their movies are really good. So why not?”
He admits he was disappointed when he finally got the script, because he was led to believe that his character would handle a lot of the action in the second act. With a laugh he says, “They sold me that I was the second lead in the movie, so there’s a point where Cap gets hurt, and [I] do everything for Cap. And I get the script, and… that’s not true. I get hurt, not Cap!”
Well, I guess that’s the peril of signing up for a big-budget franchise movie. But I’m sure if one day Mackie stars in a Falcon spinoff movie it would have been all worth it, right?
