Anthony Mackie Says Being Black Captain America ‘Means Everything’ (Exclusive)

Anthony Mackie was feeling the excitement as he spoke to “Extra’s” Melvin Robert at the Hollywood premiere of “Captain America: Brave New World" Tuesday.

“I'm excited for people to see the movie,” Mackie said. “A lot of people worked really hard on this movie, and I can say that as a producer I saw it firsthand... I'm just so excited that that hard work paid off to be the best movie it could.”

He said it “means everything” to him to be the Black Captain America, explaining, “My grandfather was a sharecropper, my dad was a roofer and I'm Captain America. Benjamin E. Mays said we study agriculture so that our kids can study math and science, so that our grandkids can study the arts. That's the American dream.”

Anthony also spoke about how he hopes his Captain America brings a similar level of compassion and empathy brought by one of his own childhood heroes.

“When I was a kid, one of my favorite superheroes was Superman, because no matter what his race was, no matter what planet he was from, he had the humanity and the dignity that I can sit there and want to emulate, that I could aspire to,” Anthony said. “I think with Captain America, I want kids, I want adults, to feel the same way. I want people to look at this character and say there is a certain level of humanity. There's a certain level of compassion. There's a certain level of empathy that I would like to have in my day-to-day life, something that I can emulate.

He added, “Just enjoy it. It's a good movie and it's fun and it's exciting and it's kick-ass!”

Plus, he talked about reuniting with Harrison Ford after having worked together two decades ago.

Anthony said, “I worked with him 21 years ago, and to come full circle now and be the lead of a film with him, it's remarkable. It’s the full scope of what you want a career to be, so I'm just elated, man. I couldn't be more surprised, more shocked, more humbled than I am right now.” 

Melvin also spoke with Harrison, who was singing Anthony’s praises, saying, “He's a monster talent, he owns this thing, and he's got a clear idea of what he wants to do.” Watch!