'This Moment Means Everything'

THE MARVEL STAR OPENS UP ABOUT FULFILLING HIS DREAMS AND REMAINING HILARIOUSLY UNIMPRESSIVE TO HIS KIDS

- ERIC ANDERSSON

Some heroes wear capes. This hero wears an iconic red, white and blue suit, which fails to impress his sons. On a recent outing to see Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with his kids, father of four Anthony Mackie sat down after loading the family up with nachos when the trailer for his new movie Captain America: Brave New World played. “My boys are not paying attention,’” says Mackie, chuckling as he recalls how his 8-year-old began to watch. “He slowly turns and looks at me, then he looks back at the screen.” The Sonic movie started, and the Mackie boys moved on: “It has never been a topic of conversation.”

Mackie’s sons may shrug off his headlining role as Captain America, but to the actor it is indeed a big deal. “This moment means everything,” says Mackie, 46, who broke out in 2002’s 8 Mile opposite Eminem shortly after graduating from New York’s Juilliard School. He’s been a Hollywood staple since, with acclaimed turns in movies like 2010’s Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker and 2017’s Detroit. But Captain America is the realization of a longtime dream. “When I started in this business, I said I wanted to be a superhero, and I wanted to do a western with Clint Eastwood,” he says. “One out of two ain’t bad.” (He did get to costar with Eastwood, in the director’s Oscar-winning 2004 boxing drama Million Dollar Baby.)