Meteoric rise of Anthony Mackie: From '8 Mile' to 'Altered Carbon', here's a look at the actor's climb to fame
Anthony Mackie was 24 when he debuted in '8 Mile' as a baby-faced gang leader, Papa Doc/Clarence. While '8 Mile' went on to become a cult classic, Mackie used that platform to nail a role in the critically acclaimed 'Brother to Brother'. Despite the limited release, the film that sheds light on homophobia and racism in the 21st century saw him nominated for 'Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance' and 'Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor'.
Add all-time hits in 'The Hurt Locker', 'Notorious', 'Night Catches Us' and 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' to the list, there's more than enough to prove Mackie's acting prowess and talent. Global recognition was achieved by then, but when the MCU came knocking with the role of Sam Wilson/The Falcon catapulting the fame and recognition a few notches higher.
He made his first appearance as Wilson alongside Chris Evans in 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' and reprised the role later in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' (2015), 'Ant-Man' (2015), 'Captain America: Civil War' (2016), 'Avengers: Infinity War' (2018) and 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019), as well as the upcoming Disney+ exclusive limited series, 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'.
To remember Mackie solely for his MCU role is unfair. Personally, the earliest memory of Mackie was when he played Sergeant JT Sanborn in 'The Hurt Locker' and the hate-him-but-can't-ignore-him role in Michael Bay's 'Pain and Gain' alongside Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg. With enough TV projects and theater stints, Mackie has managed to carve a niche for himself in Hollywood.
The reason behind a quick look at Mackie's comprehensive CV is because of his role as Takeshi Kovacs in the much-awaited upcoming second season of Netflix's dystopian sci-fi drama, 'Altered Carbon'. Mackie takes over the role from another Hollywood stalwart in Joel Kinnaman giving the audience a new version of the famed envoy to watch in Season 2. This isn't his first Netflix gig though as he played Danny Parker in 'Striking Vipers', the first episode of the fifth season of the anthology series, 'Black Mirror'.
'Striking Vipers' received positive acclaim for the nuanced portrayal of marriage and relationships. And after 'Altered Carbon', that's slowly picking up steam by the day, Mackie will be seen next in Marvel's 'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' alongside Sebastian Stan. However, coming back to 'Altered Carbon' it's interesting to see what Mackie brings to the table as Kovacs. While Kinnaman not reprising his role as the skilled envoy may have been a bummer, there have been high hopes on Mackie to deliver a stunning performance.
From the teasers and trailers that Netflix has released so far, it's already clear that this version of Kovacs is different. There's a deadly and mysterious shade to the character already and it is only a matter of time before we see how Mackie fares in the latest season of 'Altered Carbon'.
'Altered Carbon' Season 2 debuts February 27 on Netflix.
You can watch the trailer below: