Anthony Mackie has most prominently created a career in acting and is best known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Inspiration for acting can strike from various different places. For Henry Cavill, it was in his school that he discovered his love for the same. For the Captain America: The Winter Soldier actor, it was his after-school center that gave him the motivation.
Ironically enough, he never wanted to get into the profession of being in front of the camera. Instead, he had different plans in his life. Although now he is known for his work in film and television, that is not something he wanted. Before Shakespeare came into Mackie’s life, he had the ambition strong enough to want to change all the architecture of New York.
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Anthony Mackie Wanted to Rebuild New York
Anthony Mackie was an ambitious man with a goal. He wanted to do things outside of acting and he had no interest in most of what he does now. As per The Guardian, his frustrations and his choice of work went hand in hand. His focus of work lay with the skyscrapers of New York, something he profusely ridiculed.
“I wanted to redesign New York,” Mackie pointed out. “The design sucks, it’s like a whole city built on stilts, first of all, and second of all, nothing works!”
Mackie talked about how much he hated the work of New York and how it was built. His ambition was to change it completely. He wanted to rebuild all of the City that Never Sleeps because of everything that irked him about it. He found his motivation in a city he did not like the making of and he knew that if he wanted to achieve something, it would be to reconstruct and change the heart and soul of various New Yorkers. That was until he came across Shakespeare.
Anthony Mackie Found His Calling in King Lear
Anthony Mackie found himself in an after-school center in the New Orleans Centre for Creative Arts. That is where he first read King Lear. It is an exceptionally famous work written by William Shakespeare. Whether one is a theater student, an English major, or not even that, everyone is familiar with the Father of English Drama. While talking with The Guardian, he expressed the impact the playwright had on him.
“You had this old white dude, 500 years ago, on the other side of the globe, writing about what was going on in my life,” he added. “It’s like, wow, these are kinda universal themes. It made me want to see the world.”
When Mackie came across his work, he was immediately mesmerized by his plays and saw it as an opportunity to pursue his own acting career. His themes, which were always regarded to mix well with the ordinary crowd and not just members of the Church and noble people, also touched his heart. There is a reason why so many of his plays are relevant to date and Mackie saw that as well.
