For the Record With Karu F. Daniels: Anthony Mackie
True new-school thespian Anthony Mackie left audiences with an indelible impression as Eminem’s chief nemesis in the critically acclaimed ‘8 Mile’ two years ago. Since then, the 26-year-old New Orleans native has been going nonstop with work that would make a seasoned vet stammer. On Broadway, he worked with Whoopi Goldberg and also dabbled in Chekov. On screen, he literally bared his all in Spike Lee’s controversial ‘She Hate Me,’ and he also worked with Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Hilary Swank and Clint Eastwood. Ready for his close-up, Mackie stars in the courageous and daring ‘Brother to Brother,’ playing a gay black art student channeling the spirit of Harlem Renaissance legends James Baldwin and Langston Hughes. For the record, Mackie talks up craft, industry and life in general.
Well, I gotta tell you, two years ago you showed promising prowess with your debut in the breakout movie ‘8 Mile.’ And since then, you’ve been on Broadway, worked with Spike Lee, and now your career’s really blossoming. How have you done it?
Hard work. I mean, this is a very fickle business, and I put myself in a position where people couldn’t pigeonhole me. People can’t look at my resume and say, “Well, he can only do this.” When they look at my resume they can say, “OK, he’s good at Shakespeare, he’s good at Chekhov, he’s good at theater, he’s good at film. He’s done work with Spike Lee, worked with Clint Eastwood.” I can’t think of another actor, black or white, under 35 with a resume like mine. I went to school for nine years before I started acting. So it all paid off for me.
So let’s talk about ‘Brother to Brother.’ The film has been getting high marks and rave reviews from the Hollywood community and is really winning awards. What are your thoughts about it?
‘Brother to Brother’ is an amazing film. It was my first job out of school. It’s reached a level of success and awareness in the Hollywood community that I never imagined. When I did ‘Brother to Brother’ I did it just as an idea, as an artistic venture for myself. Because growing up in the South, you grow up homophobic, sexist and racist. So moving to New York, it was a big culture shock for me. And that was something that I wanted to deal with as an artist because a lot of my friends are homosexual. And I’ve always had an uncomfortable nature around them. You know what I mean? So that was something that I wanted to deal with and work on.
And ‘Brother to Brother’ was the first script I read that dealt with homosexuality that wasn’t just like a snap-queen, drag-queen-type movie. I mean some gay men are drag queens, but some just are regular guys that date men. And ‘Brother to Brother’ was the first script that I read where it was a three-dimensional person. It was an actual human being.
What came natural for you in the role?
One thing I realize while doing a role is the aspect of love, identifying love. I mean, everybody deserves to be loved. Now nobody can dictate to you in what sense or form you will be or should be loved. Some people are loved by men. Some people are loved by women. It’s not my place to tell you if that’s right or wrong. So when I recognized that in the role, that it wasn’t about, you know, me liking men or, you know, me liking women, it was about desiring love from another person. Everybody can identify with love.
You give quite a convincing and impassioned performance. Did you have to overcome your homophobia to make that happen?
I did. I mean, like I said, I was dealing with my homophobia. I was dealing with a lot of masculine issues that most men have. And one thing I realized that the film really helped me with was, yo, I’m a man, and I don’t need no other man or no woman to justify my manhood. That comes from within. There’s nobody that can give you manhood or masculinity. And I think a lot of people lose that looking for somebody else to give it to. So there was a lot that I had to overcome. There were a lot of personal demons that I had to overcome to conquer the role. But I was blessed with like an amazing cast and a phenomenal director. I’m very, very proud of it. And, you know, even with all the homophobic brothers I know, when they see it they’re like, “Yo, you know, you did something amazing.”