Anthony Mackie talks Runner, RunnerBy Wilson Morales
October 2, 2013
Coming out this week is the thriller film Runner, Runner, directed by Brad Furman (‘Lincoln Lawyer’) and starring Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, and Anthony Mackie.
Princeton grad student Richie (Justin Timberlake), believing he’s been swindled, travels to Costa Rica to confront online gambling tycoon Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Richie is seduced by Block’s promise of immense wealth, until he learns the disturbing truth about his benefactor. When the FBI tries to coerce Richie to help bring down Block, Richie faces his biggest gamble ever: attempting to outmaneuver the two forces closing in on him.
For Mackie, the role is a departure from what we have seen him in lately. In fact, in 2013, the New Orleans has appeared in numerous films with different appearances. Earlier this year, he played a cop in ‘Gangster Squad,’ a bodybuilder and workout partner of Mark Wahlberg‘s character in Michael Bay’s ‘Pain and Gain,’ a thug in George Tillman, Jr.’s upcoming drama, ‘The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete,’ and will play a senator in Bill Condon’s ‘The Fifth Estate.’
In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Mackie talks about his role in ‘Runner,’ working with both Affleck and Timberlake, and his upcoming projects.
What role do you play in the film?
Anthony Mackie: The film is about these guys, Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake, who go to South America to start an online gambling ring and I play the government agent that goes there and shuts them down. I’m an intimidating force that gets Timberlake to do my will. My character is a departure from what I’ve done before. He’s dirty and off the grid, and I get to mess with people and do whatever I want without any consequences.
What was the attraction to doing this?
AM: Just the fact that it was different from what I was doing. I really wanted to work with Ben and Justin. I’ve been a fan of theirs for a while. With Brad Furman the director, we talked about doing a project together two years ago. He gave me a call and said that he had this movie and a role for me and wanted to know what I thought of it. I told him that I didn’t care what it was. After ‘Lincoln Lawyer,’ I would have been an assistant on his next film. When it came up, I was in. With Ben, Justin, and Brad as the director, you can’t go wrong.
When you are in a film, you get to meet a lot of people. How’s the relationship with the cast? After production is complete, can you still hang out or was it just business?
AM: It’s funny, but I just had this conversation the other day with someone. It’s weird. There are so many people in this business where you meet them and worked with them, and when the movie is over, they change their cell phone number like Janet Jackson did after she finished working with Tupac on ‘Poetic Justice.’ He thought they were friends and when the film was over, she changed her number. I’ve been very fortunate. Justin and I became good friends during the production. We have a lot in common. He’s from the South and I’m from the South. We both play golf he’s just a good dude. Ben and I were the same way. It’s funny but I haven’t had the experience of meeting somebody and him playing you like a chump once the movie is over.
How was working with Brad different from the other directors you have worked with?
AM: The great thing about Brad is he’s not a dictator. He listens to your opinion. He gives you input. On set, he tells you what he needs and lets you go. He has a very keen style in the way he likes to direct. You can see it in the projects he’s done. He’s fun to be around. He’s a really smart guy. The first conversation I had with him about the movie, I wasn’t 100% sold on my ability to play the role. I wasn’t all the way in and I said something that didn’t pertain to the character or the script and he just shot it back down and started it back over. It let me know how smart he was and how into his work he is and how he has a specifically idea about very character. After that, I realized I had to be on my Ps and Qs if I was going to work with him. It just became a fun project after that.
Unlike some of your most recent projects, how much fun did you have with this film?
AM: It was a lot of fun. Like I said, working with Ben and Justin was easy and cool. I love to challenge myself with each different role and this was just a departure. There are so many times as an actor where you’re asked to be handsome, stand there and smile. This is one of those times where I got to get dirty and grow my hair out, run around and be an asshole. Sometimes, in real life, it’s fun to be an asshole.
With Ben in the film, the two of you are play comic book characters in different films, but you haven’t faced the criticism playing the Falcon as he has when he got the role of Batman. Have you had the opportunity to speak to him about that?
AM: Not at all. The great thing about Ben and Justin and our relationships together is that we never talk about work. When you meet certain people, you have so much in common, that you never talk about the obvious thing. At the time we shot the film, Ben, who had been in business for a long time, had congratulated me on the work I’d done and with the Falcon coming up, but I haven’t talked to him about playing Batman.
I know you’ve talked about it but how excited that folks will see you as the Falcon?
AM: I’m very excited. That’s another role where it’s a departure from what you usually see me do. Not too many cats can say that they are a superhero. To have that opportunity is a testament to the work that I have done. It’s a testament to the team that I have. We really worked hard to get that role and when I was on set, the Russo brothers gave me every opportunity they could to make that role as much as they could. I think people are going to lose their shit when they see it.
I just saw George Tillman, Jr.’s The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete and Skylan Brooks was just flat out amazing. It was also interesting seeing you with a Mohawk and beard. How was working on that film?
AM: When George called me a said that he was doing the movie, Boaz Yakin’s Fresh is one of my favorite films of all time and one of the first movies I remembered watching that truly affected me. When I read the script for Mister and Pete, it was just like this film with Brad. I didn’t care what the role was, I wanted in. To see a story of these kids told and the situation that they go through, if there was any way, shape or form that I could be a part of that, I’m with that. For Skylan to be so young and bring that amount of depth to the role, it’s a testament to the young talent that’s coming up and catching up to our heels. George directed the hell out of him and gave him every opportunity he could to shine. I’m looking forward to see what Skylan has next in line because he deserves another opportunity.
Do you have any plans on coming back to the theater world? I thought you would have been the one playing Walter Lee Younger in Kenny Leon’s revival of ‘A Raisin in the Sun.’
AM: Well, my name is not Denzel Washington. If Denzel would have passed, I would have loved to have done it, but I know I couldn’t do the justice that Denzel is going to bring to the material. ‘Raisin in the Sun’ is like the black man’s ‘Hamlet,’ or ‘Macbeth,’ or ‘Death of a Salesman.’ It’s a testament to our history and our family structure. I’m definitely looking for an opportunity to come back to Broadway. Broadway is just an evolving business right now, but I’ll never turn my back on theater. I don’t care how many movies I have under my belt.
How are you able to do these films and still find time for folks to see you at your bar in Brooklyn?
AM: Like I always tell my team; I’m not afraid of people. To be an actor and a good actor, you have to watch and study people. I like to be around people and talk shit to people. I like to interact and have fun with people. A lot of people don’t understand that. They come to my bar and are really fascinated and taken aback by the idea that I’m there hanging out and talking to people. I’m still a human being like everyone else. I can handle myself just like every other man. We just have a good time, have drinks and watch sports. I’m opening another bar in Williamsburg hopefully in late October or early November.
