Anthony Mackie is one of the veteran actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Making his first appearance as Falcon in the Russo Brothers’ Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Mackie has since become a mainstay supporting characters in the MCU. But soon, Mackie will be co-leading an MCU TV series for Disney Plus titled, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. The MCU has made tremendous strides in terms of diversity, in recent years, shining a spotlight on non-White superheroes (Black Panther) and women superheroes (Captain Marvel and the upcoming Black Widow). But according to Anthony Mackie, there is still a lot more work to be done.
On Variety’s Actors on Actors with Daveed Diggs, Mackie said:
“When The Falcon and The Winter Soldier comes out, I’m the lead. When Snowpiercer comes out, you’re the lead. We have the power and the ability to ask those questions. It really bothered me that I’ve done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white.”
Anthony Mackie certainly has a point. It’s not enough to have representation on screen, major studios also need to give equal opportunities to minorities behind-the-scenes, as well, from the more prominent crew members such as the cinematographer and editor, all the way to the intern who buys coffee for the cast.
There are some who will point to a film like Black Panther and highlight how it’s put together mostly by a cast and crew who are people of colour. However, Mackie says that only highlights the inherent flaw in the system.
“But then when you do Black Panther, you have a Black director, Black producer, you have a Black costume designer, you have a Black stunt choreographer. And I’m like, that’s more racist than anything else. Because if you only can hire the Black people for the Black movie, are you saying they’re not good enough when you have a mostly white cast?”
So, what is Mackie’s solution? Well, it’s quite simple, really.
“Hire the best person for the job. Even if it means we’re going to get the best two women, we’re going to get the best two men.”
