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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2013)
Arts & Entertainment Anthony Mackie: The ‘Pain & Gain’ Interview Kam Williams Special To The Skanner News B orn in New Orleans on Septem- ber 23, 1979, Anthony Mackie attended the Julliard School of Drama. He was discovered after receiving rave reviews for playing Tupac Shakur in the off-Broadway play “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 subse- quently cast him in “Sucker Free City” and “She Hate Me.” He also appeared in Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby” as well as in Jonathan Demme’s “The Manchurian Candidate.” Mackie had five features on movie screens in 2006. In addition to “We Are Marshall,” he starred in “Half Nel- son,” with Ryan Gosling, adapted from director Ryan Fleck’s Sundance-win- ning 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 “Free- domland,” starring Samuel L. Jackson. Besides an impressive film career, the gap-toothed thespian has per- formed both on and off Broadway, making his Broadway debut as the stuttering nephew, Sylvester, along- side Whoopi Goldberg in August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bot- tom.” Next he was seen as the lead in Regina King’s modern retelling of Chekov’s “The Seagull,” in Stephen Belber’s “McReele,” and in the Pulitzer Prize-winning “A Soldier’s Play.” More recently, Mackie participated in the Kennedy Center’s presentation of “August Wilson’s 20th Century.” As one of more than 30 renowned stars of stage and screen, he performed in three readings of Wilson’s cycle of ten plays chronicling the African-American Pain & Gain experience, each set in a dif- ferent decade of the 20th century. A true aficionado of live theatre, he hopes to return to the stage soon. In 2009, he played Sgt. JT Sanborn on the big screen in Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Lock- er,” a film which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. That same year, he reprised his role as Tupac Shakur in “Notorious,” the biopic of Notorious B.I.G. In 2010, he took a break from film to return to Broadway where he starred in “A Beheading in Spokane.” He subsequently returned to Hollywood to appear opposite Kerry Washington in “Night Night Catches Us, etcetera, etcetera... AM: Thanks a lot, Kam. I’ve been very fortunate to land all the projects that I’ve done. I have a great team of people working with me. KW: So, what interested you in “Pain & Gain?” AM: It was the script. I was really psyched about Michael [director Michael Bay] doing a story with three-dimensional charac- ters like these who you could real delve into to see what makes them tick. KW: I have a lot of ques- tions sent in to you by readers. Editor/Legist Patri- cia Turnier asks: How ... it’s exciting to see people react positively to your work, to something you’ve invested so much time and so much of yourself into. Catches Us.” Then he appeared in “The Adjust- ment Bureau” and “Real Steel.” Last year, he made several movies, including “Man on a Ledge,” “10 Years” and “Abraham Lin- coln: Vampire Hunter.” 2013 is proving very pro- ductive for Mackie, with the horror thriller “Vipaka,” the coming of age drama “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete,” the crime thriller “Runner, Runner” and “Bolden” being among his offerings. Here, he talks about his new movie, “Pain & Gain,” a fact-based crime comedy co-starring Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg. Kam Williams: Hi Anthony, thanks for another interview. Anthony Mackie: What’s going on, my man? KW: Nothing much, brother. What an impressive resume you’ve compiled for someone so young: The Hurt Locker, The Manchuri- an Candidate, Notorious, We Are Marshall, Half Nel- son, 8 Mile, American Violet, The Adjustment Bureau, Gangster Squad, would you describe your character, Adrian? Are you anything like him in real life? AM: [Chuckles] That’s funny! No, I’m not anything like him at all. The thing that I enjoyed about doing Adrian was that he never backed down. He admired Daniel [played by Mark Wahlberg] so much and just wanted his friend to suc- ceed. And he also wanted to achieve The American Dream. KW: I saw you on several talk shows over the last cou- ple of weeks, and between being pumped up from the weightlifting and the way you trash-talked like you were shot out of a cannon, you seemed almost like a different person, or as if you were still in character. AM: [LOL] I really enjoyed this character and talking about him. I’m lucky because I get to do projects I like and believe in. And it’s exciting to see people react positively to your work, to something you’ve invested so much time and so much of your- self into. KW: How much time did See MACKIE on page 10 Page 6 The Portland Skanner May 1, 2013
