Anthony Mackie has taken on all kinds of characters throughout his career. From joining the world of hip-hop with roles in both 8 Mile and Notorious, to his award-winning role in The Hurt Locker, nothing could have prepared him for what was to come in the upcoming movie Pain And Gain.
Taking on the role of a body builder alongside Hollywood hunks Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Anthony had to go through some vigorous training to join the big leagues although his most intense moment from the movie was during has passionate love scene with comedian Rebel Wilson. We can only imagine
We got a chance to catch up with Anthony, who revealed to us just what his sexy affair with Rebel was like, what training alongside Mark and The Rock was like, and how he got caught in the middle of the ocean.
Check out the hilarious interview below…
Global Grind: In the movie Pain & Gain, you had to put on this green alien suit. What was it like the when directors told you you’d be wearing it?
Anthony Mackie: I asked for that suit! Michael and I had a very funny conversation when he called to talk to me about the movie. I was like “Look dude, two words you gotta know. Onesies. And spandex.” If you give me those, I’m in. So after that, it was all about funny, ridiculous costumes for me.
So you like to just dress up and get crazy?
Exactly.
Speaking of crazy, you do a sex scene with Rebel Wilson. What was that kind of like in between takes?
That was actually pretty hilarious. I was just trying to not get hit by the numb chucks. I’m a big girl connoisseur, so I rather enjoyed it.
Do you have any funny stories from hanging with Rebel?
She introduced me to spanx. I had no idea what spanx were!
You also got a chance to really get to know Mark Wahlberg, who’s really known for being out there. What was the craziest thing he said or did to you on set?
Mark’s a bullet. We would work out every morning together. We had a great time working together. We had a lot of fun. He would do ridiculous stuff everyday. But the one thing he did was during when we were shooting the scene where we jump into the lagoon in the back of police officers house. I can’t swim, for real. So he’s telling Michael to jump in the water since I can’t swim. So we had to jump in the middle of the damn ocean and swim back to land! He’s out there swimming like a fish laughing, and I’m drowning! So that was the day I realized I’m gonna beat up Mark Wahlberg.
Do you ever think you’re going to learn how to swim after your experience?
No! I have no interest. No desire at all. I’ve tried. My problem is, I’m a certified scuba diver. I go snorkeling all the time. As long as I have oxygen on my back, I’ll swim all day. I’ll swim with sharks, I’ll swim with whales, everything. I have no desire to swim without oxygen, because I don’t float, I sink. I get in the pool and I sink.
I understand you’ve also done some hardcore working out in the gym with both Mark and The Rock for the movie. What was that like?
It was cool. I had amazing games when I was in the gym with Mark. He’s a great partner, because we pushed each other to our limits. I maxed out way higher than I expected by working out with him during the movie. So I think that’s where I got most of my bulk from.
What were some of your workout techniques?
Schwarzenegger used to say “I don’t start counting until my muscles start burning.” That’s kind of what it was when we were in the gym. I would do 3 sets. Usually 12-14 reps varying in weight. My last set I would go to failure. That’s when I would see the most results and my biggest results when I would go all the way to failure. Sometimes it wasn’t even with the heaviest weight. If I was curling, I would go to 35-40 pounds and go to failure. Then I would grab the 15 pounds and go to failure. The muscle would just be completely exhausted.
Were you upset that Mark and The Rock had a fake love scene with model Bar Paly?
No, not at all! I think I had the best love scene with Rebel Wilson!
So there was no jealousy?
I mean it’s alright with them that they get to ride in a Toyota, but I get to ride in a Cadillac. You know what I’m saying? I get a Suburban. They were in a Prius, I get a Suburban.
Did some of the weight training that you did for this movie help for your role as the Falcon in Captain America?
Definitely. It definitely got in me in shape to start Captain America. It got that process started.
I understand you also did combat training to prep for your role?
Yeah, we’ve been doing combat training for the past 3 weeks now. So I got with the stunt guys, and really just pushed it as hard as I could. But I hurt myself so now I have to figure out what I’m going to do next.
Are you planning at all to do some of your own stunts?
Yeah, definitely. I have a great stunt guy. We figured out exactly what he was going to do and what I was going to do. So I just let him go do his thing, and I’ll just stand and applaud.
For some of the flying scenes, are they planning to use a harness? Are you worried about that at all?
No, I’m not worried. I’ve done it before.
What would you say is on your workout playlist right now?
I’m more of an old school fan. So I probably have like Q-Tip’s The Renaissance, some Talib Kweli and Common. Of course some Tupac in there.
Speaking of Tupac, a lot of hip hop fans know you as the guy who played who played Tupac in Notorious. If you could portray another music artist in a movie, who would you wanna play?
Probably Sam Cooke. Everyone from my generation knows him and his stuff.
