Anthony Mackie talks Gangster Squad, Vipaka, Pain and GainBy Wilson Morales
January 12, 2013
Currently playing in theaters is Anthony Mackie‘s latest film, ‘Gangster Squad,’ which is directed by Ruben Fleischer and also starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, and Giovanni Ribisi.
The film centers on a secret crew of police officers, led by two determined sergeants, work together in an effort to take down the ruthless mob king Mickey Cohen (Penn) who runs the city.
For Mackie, ‘Gangster’ is the first among a slew a films he has set to be released in 2013. The New Orleans native has a film showing at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival (‘The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete’) as well as the Slamdance Film Festival (‘Vipaka‘). Then in the Spring comes Michael Bay’s dramedy ‘Pain and Gain,’ which Mackie co-stars with Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson. Towards the end of the year, he will also be seen with Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake in ‘Runner, Runner’ before popping up as the Falcon in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’
In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Mackie talks about his role in ‘Gangster Squad,’ as well as some of his other upcoming projects.
Anthony Mackie: I play a hard nose cop from South Central Los Angeles who wants to save the black neighborhood from heroin. His name is Harris and he’s a beat cop from Central Avenue in Los Angeles. This is the time period when drugs were introduced into the black neighborhood after the war and he remembers the heyday of the juke joints and the good music and the good food and the wants the neighborhood to go back to that. He single-handed wages a war against the drugs dealers; and then he gets an opportunity to go after Mickey Cohen.
What was the attraction to doing this movie?
AM: The story. Not too many want to do stuff for the greater good and get credit for it. That’s kind of a lost art form; so when I read the script, I was blown away by the characters. When I also read who was in the movie, those are the names you want to be associated with. I like for people to say Ryan Gosling and Anthony Mackie in the same sentence.
How was working with Ryan since you last worked in ‘Half Nelson’?
AM: It was fun. Ryan will always be Ryan. I’ve worked with a bunch of people who are in the movie before, and it was a good time. It was good to connect with old friends.
Did you do any research in regards to African Americans and that time period in Los Angeles?
AM: A little bit. Los Angeles was differhttps://www.blackfilm.com/read/wp-admin/post-new.phpent than the rest of the country because it was considered the great promise land. It was the furthest stop out West, and race relations were different than they were in the Deep South. That’s why the migration patterns from the western parts of the South were towards California. I read a little bit about it but more so, for me, it was more about the music. I started listening to a lot of music from that time.
You’ve played a cop, a boxer, and a panther. What is it about these characters that intrigue you?
AM: As people, that’s who we are. I love to see humanity in characters. When I read a script, I look for the good and the bad in characters and see how those two things fight against each other so that they can both co-exist in humanity together. There was something about Harris that I wanted to discover because he seemed like such a stand up righteous guy fight for his community. I wanted to know what made him tick every time he got up in the morning.
You have a couple of films coming up, including one at Sundance called The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete. How exciting is that?
AM: It’s a huge accomplishment for the movie to be at Sundance. If I were a filmmaker, those are the types of films I would like to be making. Those are the stories we don’t get to tell anymore as actors and filmmakers. When George Tillman called me about that project, I didn’t care how many lines I had or how big or small the character was, I just wanted to be a part of it and make sure that that story is told.
I’m also excited to hear that your other film, Vipaka, will finally be shown at Slamdance. How much fun was it working with Forest Whitaker, Mike Epps, Sanaa Lathan, and Nicole Ari Parker?
AM: It’s kind of a psychological thriller. It was a lot of fun working with Forest. It’s funny but Forest and I ran into each in Italy months before that movie started shooting and I was telling myself that Forest is sort of an Icon since the days he was Ghost Dog. I was telling him how much fun it would be to work together and a month later, the script popped up. I was already in New Orleans and we shot the film there. I think the director did a really good job with fleshing out the story in a very tight confined script. A lot of the movie is a psychological thriller and a lot of the suspense is Forest being tortured. He was able to take it, open it up, and find a story in there that turned out really well.
How many pounds did you put on for Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain?
AM: I put on about 23 pounds. My goal was to get to 225 and I almost got to 220. I got back to my high school weight. It was fun to work out with Mark (Wahlberg) and Dwayne (Johnson) and try to get as big as Dwayne, which is impossible.
Will ‘Bolden’ ever be shown? It’s been some time since you shot that film.
AM: Well, hopefully. Bolden will be in the festival circuit next year. We’re going back and re-doing some principal photography and fix some things. Hopefully, next year will be the year for ‘Bolden.’
With so many projects coming up, how and when do you find time to rest?
AM: I find rest in work. I play golf. I go fishing. I work on my car. That’s my rest time. No rest for the weary.
What’s a good reason to see ‘Gangster Squad’?
AM: Because it’s a good movie. It’s a fun movie that transports you to a different time. It’s a good story with a good cast.
