Anthony Mackie

Anthony Mackie
© Ph: Anneke Schoneveld, 2009/ courtesy of Magnolia Pictures ("Night Catches Us", directed by Tanya Hamilton, 2010)
Actor
Principal country concerned : Column : Theater, Cinema/tv

Anthony Mackie, who was classically trained at the Julliard School of Drama, is a versatile young actor who is able to capture a plethora of characters.

Mackie was discovered after receiving rave reviews while playing Tupac Shakur in the off Broadway Up Against the Wind. Immediately following, Mackie made an auspicious film debut as Eminem's nemesis, Papa Doc, in Curtis Hanson's "8 Mile". His performance caught the attention of Spike Lee, who subsequently cast Mackie in the 2004 Toronto Film Festival Masters Program selection "Sucker Free City" and "She Hate Me". He also appeared in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award-winning "Million Dollar Baby", opposite Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman and Eastwood, as well as in Jonathan Demme's "The Manchurian Candidate", alongside Denzel Washington and Liev Schreiber, and the comedy "The Man", starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Mackie earned IFP Spirit and Gotham Award nominations for his performance in Rodney Evans' "Brother to Brother", which won the 2004 Special Dramatic Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. In 2005, he appeared opposite David Strathairn, Timothy Hutton and Leelee Sobieski in "Heavens Fall", based on the historic Scottsboro Boys' trials, an independent feature that premiered at the 2006 SXSW Film Festival in Austin.

Mackie also had five features on movie screens in 2006. In addition to "We Are Marshall", he starred in Half Nelson, with Ryan Gosling, adapted from director Ryan Fleck's Sundance-winning short "Gowanus Brooklyn"; in Preston Whitmore's Crossover; in Frank E. Flowers ensemble crime drama "Haven", opposite Orlando Bloom and Bill Paxton; and in the film adaptation of Richard Price's "Freedomland", starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Intertwined throughout his film career, Mackie was seen in several theatrical performances both on and off Broadway. Mackie made his Broadway debut as the stuttering nephew, Sylvester, alongside Whoopi Goldberg in August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom". Next he was seen as the lead in Regina King's modern retelling of Chekov's "The Seagull", starred in Stephen Belber's McReele for the Rounabout Theatre Company, and starred in the Pulitzer Prize winning play "Soldier's Play" as a character made famous by Denzel Washington 20 years prior. Most recently, Mackie was part of the production of August Wilson's 20th Century at the esteemed Kennedy Center where they performed stage readings of all 10 plays in August Wilson's cycle. Mackie participated in 3 of the 10 shows and hopes to return to the stage soon.

Most recently, Mackie was seen as Sgt. JT Sanborn in Katherine Bigelow's critically acclaimed film "The Hurt Locker", a film in which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 2008. Mackie was also recently seen as Tupac Shakur in Fox Searchlight's Notorious BIG biopic Notorious and as Major William Bowman in Dreamworks film "Eagle Eye". Next up, he will tackle a couple more biopics with "Bolden!", an account of the great New Orleans cornet player Buddy Bolden, and "Jesse Owens", a feature based on the late-great Olympic star. Mackie just recently wrapped production on "Night Catches Us" in which he shares the screen with Kerry Washington and portrays a Black Panther (Marcus Washington) who returns home after a decade in exile. Mackie is currently filming "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in New York City.

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