Anthony Mackie opened up about the time he very nearly missed out on one of his biggest movie roles. The experience also taught him a lot about the types of people he wants to work with.
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During an August episode of Variety’s series Know Their Lines, Anthony Mackie told the story of how he almost got too involved with a bad director.
Know Their Lines is a series where stars read a line they’ve said from a previous film. They attempt to answer which film the line is from, before providing a little more detail of their experience.
When he got thrown a line from the 2008 film The Hurt Locker, he was immediately brought back to how he almost lost his role.
Anthony Mackie played Sergeant J.T. Sanborn, which was a career-defining role for the actor. Which is why it’s so shocking to hear he almost missed out.
“Hurt Locker is probably one of the most important acting experiences I had,” he reflected.
“We shot that in 2007, and I remember I was doing a movie in North Carolina with quite possibly the worst director to ever direct.”
Awful Director Almost Got In The Way Of Anthony Mackie’s Most Important Role
Anthony Mackie didn’t share the name of the director, nor the film. Due to the poor directing, the film was never released anyway.
Due to his commitment to that film, he pulled out of The Hurt Locker. The producers gave the role to someone else, but they never took it, as they weren’t “paying enough.” Thanks to the rejection of this mystery actor, they turned back to Mackie.
“They came back to me and they were like, ‘Look, you know, we’ll wait if you do it.’ I’m like, ‘F–k yeah, I’ll do it.'”
He took the role without hesitation, but he had to get to work quickly. He had to get over to the set the next day.
“So, I went from this sucky director who had no business in being in the business or in the director’s chair to Katherine Bigalow,” he continued, relieved.
“It really was poignant to me, like the type of people I want to work with and the type of people who shouldn’t be working.”