‘Captain America’ star Anthony Mackie | Image: Instagram/@anthonymackie
“Captain America” actor Anthony Mackie extended a special message to Filipino kids who aspire to become actors or portray a superhero in the future.
During a recent interview with Filipino stars Kyle Echarri and Juan Karlos, Mackie shared words of encouragement to young Filipinos aspiring to make it big, emphasizing the difference between being an actor and a celebrity.
“I’ll say to that kid the same thing my mentor said to me and the same thing that I tell everyone: You have to be honest with yourself. The days in which you are able to lie to yourself are over. So you have to ask yourself, Do you want to be an actor or do you want to be a celebrity?” he said.
“Those are two very different things. If you want to be an actor, you grind and you work for it, and you get it. If you want to be a celebrity, get out of the way of the actors and go be a celebrity because you’re standing in somebody else’s spot and you’re taking the prime opportunity that they deserve as an actor,” he continued.
Mackie underscored that being an actor requires a lot of work, while being a celebrity comes with a lot of fun.
“If you don’t want to be an actor, you’re never going to make it as an actor because it’s too hard and it’s too grueling, but if you want to be a celebrity, go be a celebrity; it’s a lot of fun, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said.
The Hollywood actor remarked that it took him nearly 25 years to get his big break, stressing the sacrifices he did.
“I’m Captain America. I mean, it took 23 years before I got here. My first movie was 23 years ago. I started taking classes when I was eight, so it took me 38 years to get here with classes and a career, so it’s not like, ‘Yay, I moved to LA and became famous.’ I’ve never lived in LA. I just did the work and stayed focused on what I wanted, and this is the payoff,” the actor stated.
Mackie rose to fame after playing the lead in “The Hurt Locker,” which won Best Picture at the Oscars 2010. He joined the MCU as Sam Wilson/The Falcon in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
His Captain America role expanded in “Avengers: Endgame” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” Mackie is set to lead “Captain America: Brave New World,” marking his first solo film in the franchise.