Warning: The movie’s been out for about two months, and yet heads up that this piece features a brief but major spoiler for Avengers: Endgame.
The majority of Marvel superheroes aren’t played by superstars; even Robert Downey Jr. was seen as a huge risk when he was cast as Iron Man. Instead they’re often character actors, thespians who tend towards smaller films, and have used their MCU fame — and money — to get indies made.
One of them is Anthony Mackie, aka Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, who first appeared in Captain America: Winter Solider. Up till then he’d merely been a respected performer of The Hurt Locker and the occasional blockbuster — known but not a household name. In fact, he was so under the radar he had to actually email Marvel.
This is what Mackie recently told Men’s Health (as caught by Entertainment Weekly), who caught up with the actor post-Avengers: Endgame, which ended (spoiler) with old Steve Rogers bequeathing Wilson/Falcon his famous shield. Mackie reminisced about how his team reached out to the comic book giant via electronic mail.
“My line was ‘Yo, I’m the black dude from The Hurt Locker,” Mackie recalled.
Mackie has since played Wilson/Falcon four more times, including a brief bit in Ant-Man, although his part in Avengers: Age of Ultron was so small he didn’t even know he was in it until he was watching it. So to recap: All you need to do to be cast as a Marvel superhero is a) know their email and b) be a brilliant actor who was also amazing opposite Ryan Gosling in 2005’s Half-Nelson.
(Via Men’s Health and EW)