Actor Anthony Mackie, a Louisiana native, is a long way from the humid bayou shores of the Gulf Coast. Sure, roles beside Matt Damon in the 2011 The Adjustment Bureau and Jeremy Renner in 2008’s Oscar winner The Hurt Locker were huge. Even the risk he took playing Tupac Shakur in 2009’s Notorious was a memorable moment of his 13-year career. But this man with southern charm hasn’t lost his roots and is still the same guy no matter what.
Some actors like to come off as reserved and cool-headed, but not Mackie. He’s not worried about awkward faces, weird noises or outrageous statements. He has a good time, and his smile is so infectious, even his castmates and the interviewers want to join in on the fun.
“Every now and then you take a role where you can eat po’boys and drink all day,” says Mackie, 36. “I’m at that age now, mid-30s, where, if you put [weight] on, it’s most likely going to stay with you forever.”
Mackie, who came to prominence after note-worthy performances in 8 Mile and The Hurt Locker, has recently taken on several physically demanding roles that require him to intensify his workout regimen and pack on up to 20 pounds of muscle.
First, Mackie stars alongside Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in Pain & Gain, the true tale of three workout buddies who botch a kidnapping and extortion caper. Mackie plays Wahlberg’s best friend and co-conspirator, Adrian Doorbal. Like their big-screen characters, the cast of Pain & Gain bonded over barbells.
“Dwayne was working out for Wrestlemania, so he was in the gym at, like, 5 a.m. but Mark, his crew, and I would work out every morning at 7 a.m.,” Mackie says. “It’s a different mind-set when you go into a gym with a group of guys. You work out all week to be able to max out at the end of the week, so everybody wanted to prove he was better than the next guy.”
“I try to go to the gym every morning for an hour, hour and a half. It’s just to keep myself in shape. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to do this movie. I took a four-year period when I was playing cops and stuff like that. So I drunk a lot of whiskey and ate a lot of beef and got fat.”
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