Anthony Mackie: Social Media Interview

@totalfilm #AskMackie how could you become so fit for #PainAndGain in few time without "steroids"? People would love to know your secret! August 1, 2013

How did you manage to get fit so quickly for Pain & Gain ? Whats your secret?

You know, a really good friend of mine here is a body builder and he literally, I ate about 3500 to 4000 calories a day, I ran three to four miles a day and I went to the gym twice a day. So I was doing light weights and heavy cardio in the morning and in the afternoon/evening I would do really heavy weights.

That's a lot of work...

It's a lot! I did that for two months. It was really gruelling and that' what my friend, he told me, 'When you get into bodybuilding it's more a lifestyle than it is just something you can do casually.' It really did change every aspect of my life, I couldn't eat the way I usually eat, you have to get eight hours of sleep. There are certain things that you have to do in order for your body to grow, so you have to allow your body to recover each night. So it was more of a lifestyle change than anything else.

Did you reach a point where you thought you couldn't do it anymore because it's so tough?

You know, once we started shooting, I started working out with Mark [Wahlberg], and you know Mark's done bodybuilding for a long time, so I started working out with him when we were shooting 12-13 hours a day, then you're living in a hotel so you don't really have the proper dietary ability you need to grow like that and we would work out 7am every morning. So it was really difficult to keep up with it, but I saw extreme gain when I was working out with Mark because we pushed each other so hard every morning.

Did you guys have flex-off competitions?

[ laughs ] No, but invariably as soon as you to stand next to Dwayne, you start flexing. I thought I was in pretty good shape and when I showed up everybody was like, 'Damn, you're really big.' Dwayne showed up and they were like, 'Uhhh, you need to grow some more...' I started hitting the gym much harder once I stood next to Dwayne!

@totalfilm Did working on The Hurt Locker teach you about physical and emotional Pain & Gain experience that helped to film CA2? #AskMackie August 1, 2013

You did lots of training for Hurt Locker , did that teach you the self-discipline you needed in preparing for Pain & Gain ?

I mean, The Hurt Locker was more losing weight, it was more slimming down, so it was definitely a discipline in order to stay focus in the hot temperatures, Pain & Gain was just about putting on as much mass as possible, that's what made it so difficult, was putting on so much size.

Was it more difficult to put on than to lose?

Definitely. To lose weight, all you need to do is burn more calories than you put in, but to put on weight, not too many people can eat that much food and rest that much, and then allow yourself in a healthy weight to lift that much weight. At a certain weight, you can hurt yourself more than build muscle, so I wanted to do it the healthy way, so I gave myself the time to do it.

Was it difficult to keep a straight face when you were dressing up as a superhero?

[ laughs ] Not at all! The funny thing about that movie and that character, every time I put on the costume I felt like a badass. Like, every time I put on the costume I wanted to go out and punch somebody. So, you feel kind of invincible. So it was more trying not to get in trouble! Every time I'd go somewhere, I'd be like, 'You know I'm a superhero, so you shouldn't fuck with me.' It's more trying to keep yourself out of trouble than it is laughing at yourself!

What was it like when you first put the costume on?

I felt a little ridiculous at first because the reality of it is that you're a thirty-something year old man dressing like a cartoon hero, but then after a while, sometimes I would look at Chris and I'd laugh because I was like, 'I can't believe we're out here doing this.' But after a while, you start to buy into it.

Did you feel sad about saying goodbye to the costume at the end of the shoot?

Oh definitely. I always laugh about it, the last day of production was bittersweet because we had so much fun making that movie, it isn't too often you get to say, 'Oh I'm going to work as a superhero today.' You know? It was a lot of fun, there were a lot of great people working on that movie. We had a lot of fun with it.

Are you contracted for Avengers 2 ?

I'm under contract for a bunch of movies, but I don't know if Avengers 2 is one of those movies. The problem is with Marvel, they don't really tell you which movies you're going to be working on and what you're going to be doing, they just let you know that you're going to be in a bunch of different movies.

Would you be excited about doing Avengers 2 ?

Oh hell yeah! I love the first Avengers movie, so the idea of being in Avengers 2 would be the icing on the cake. One the movie did so well, and two there were so many great actors giving really great performances in that movie that it would be kick-ass to be a part of Avengers 2 . It just seems like, it's like watching Ocean's 11 , you've got a bunch of guys that get paid to go to work with their friends and have fun every day. So why wouldn't you want to be a part of that?

First Spawn, then Blade, now Falcon, what is it about black superheroes that audiences really like?

I think with black superheroes is you have... All-black superheroes, you look at Blade, you look at Spawn, in some shape or form they're kind of down and outs, they're in a situation where you can relate to them more. They're not the rich guy that create a power, they're more so just average every-day guys, down and outs that are given the opportunity to be a superhero. I think that's what people can relate to, the idea of, 'Wow, I wish I was given the opportunity to be a superhero!'

@totalfilm what would you do if you had the Falcon's powers in real life? #AskMackie July 31, 2013

What would you do if you had Falcon's powers in real life?

Oh man, I would fly everywhere! Literally, I would fly everywhere. [ laughs ]

Do you have a favourite movie and which director would you most like to work with?

It's funny, I always say my favourite movie, the one I watch over and over and over is Coming To America , with Eddie Murphy. Growing up I was, and still am, one of the biggest Eddie Murphy fans in the world. Anything he did, I watched. The director I would love to work with is Paul Greengrass, he's kick-ass in many different ways.

What is it about him that's so attractive or inspiring?

His ability to flesh out characters in an unconventional way. If you look at the Bourne movies, all the movies that he's done, none of them are asymmetrical as far as dealing with our reality, but he makes them very realistic. He makes you believe that something like that could happen, and I feel like he always puts the actor in a position to win. A lot of directors, they never give the actor the opportunies to win, to look cool, to be cool, they're so involved in the story and the way the movie looks that they forget about the actor. Greengrass has a very good hold on giving th actor the ability to win at every possible turn.

You know that they're doing a fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie?

I knew they were doing a TV show, I didn't know they were doing a movie. I'm gonna give them a call, maybe it's time he passed it down! I'll be Axel Foley!

@totalfilm You're in a lot of badass films lately. Any chance we'll see you in a comedic role again like in What's Your Number? #AskMackie July 31, 2013

Would you want to do comedy again?

I love to do comedy. I think i'm a pretty funny guy, at least I crack myself up when i'm by myself! You know, I would love the ability... The idea of an actor who does as many things as possible [is great], so I'd love to do comedy. That's every actor's goal, every project you go into is to do something different and creative to challenge yourself.

They do say comedy is the most challenging thing you can do...

Yeah, comedy is harder than drama. Everybody laughs for different reasons. You can be as funny as you want to be, if people don't relate to your level of comedy, they won't laugh. In drama, people pretty much cry for the same reasons. They can all relate.

@totalfilm do you prefer movies or Broadway? #askmackie August 1, 2013

Do you prefer movies or Broadway?

Broadway, definitely. I love being on stage, that's like my first passion. The audience feedback, we live in an instant gratification society, and I feel like when you're on stage and you do something good, the audience lets you know. When you do something bad, they also let you know. I feel like it's the closest thing to walking a tightrope outside of walking a tightrope.

@totalfilm Are we ever going to see an #8mile sequel? "16 Miles: Papa Doc's Revenge"?!! #AskMackie August 1, 2013

Will you ever do an 8 Mile sequel? 16 Miles: Papa Doc's Revenge ?

I think that would be more of a spoof, than an actual sequel! It would definitely be worth doing. If you look at that movie, Omar Benson, Eugene Bird, everybody from that movie went on to become pretty big actors. I doubt they would ever be able to get all of us back together, but it would be fun to do it. We all talked on the phone about eight months ago, it was the 10 year anniversary, so we all had a phone call and talked about it. But I doubt if all those dudes will ever get back together, Eminem's not trying to act at all. It's funny looking at it 10 years later.

Did you get to keep your hat from Adjustment Bureau ?

[ laughs ] It's funny cos I asked for it several times and they said no. I asked them! So when I started the Falcon, I had it put in my contract that I get to keep my wings. Like, 'That's Falcon, bitch, on the wall, behind emergency break glass!'