Anthony Mackie speaks to the The Pivot podcast to talk about his more traditional methods of raising his boys while dealing with the fame of being Captain America.
via: THR
During a recent appearance on The Pivot, Mackie opened up about raising his kids. “I keep my boys humble. Like my boys have never had a pair of Jordans. My boys don’t do all that internet fly shit,” he said. “I could be the biggest star in the world. Do not let me catch you being stupid.”
He continued, “My oldest gets it, my 15-year-old. He tells the other ones, he’s like, ‘Yo, don’t make dad mad.’ Once you get one that’s right, he’s going to straighten the other ones out.”
Mackie shares four sons with his ex-wife, Sheletta Chapital. They finalized their divorce in 2018.
The Avengers franchise actor went on to explain why it’s important to him to build his children’s character. “So, it is just that thing of in the past 20 years, we’ve been living through the death of the American male. They have literally killed masculinity in our homes, in our communities for one reason or another. But I raise my boys to be young men. And however you feel about that, you feel about that.”
Mackie told his sons since they were 2 years old that they need to always say thank you, open doors for women and take care of their mom. “Every time I left for a job, I tell my 15-year-old, ‘You’re the man of the house. You make sure these doors are locked. Every night this alarm is on. You text me or you call me every night before you go to bed and you wake up.’ I love that because we’re men,” Mackie said.
Mackie believes all the “money” and “celebrity” in the world “means nothing” if he’s “not there to protect” his family. “So, for me, it’s always that idea of American masculinity is very different.”
The actor debuted on the big screen in 2002’s 8 Mile and has since starred in numerous films including as Sam Wilson (aka Falcon) in the MCU before he was named the new Captain America.
In other Anthony Mackie news, the actor also talks about playing gay roles during his career and how it helped him to be more empathetic toward gay people, including one of his own brothers.
Mackie played the role of Perry in the movie Brother to Brother (2004) and Danny in a 2019 episode of Black Mirror (“Striking Vipers” – Season 5, Episode 1).
“Growing up in the south in the 90s & 80s, you grew up homophobic, sexist and racist….that’s just a fact,” said Mackie, who was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“So when I got to school, my roommate was gay, like I didn’t know how to deal with that. Like my brother is gay.”
“So being a man, I used my art to better myself,” Mackie said. “I played Perry so that I could understand my brother better, so I could understand my friends better. Going to art school, a bunch of my friends were gay.”
He goes on to highlight figures such as Big Freedia and how gayness has been a part of New Orleans culture for a long time.
“But with me, I needed to figure out what was my hold up, what was my insecurity about that. And once I played that role, I realized everybody deserves to be loved. It’s not my job to say who you love or who should love you, If you’re loved, I’m happy for you. Doesn’t mean I’m gay. So Perry was more a statement piece for me, with love and admiration for my brother, with the appreciation and respect for my friends, for that culture.
“I think it made me a better actor because I had to go so far outside the box.”
Mackie’s comments about playing gay roles divided the internet. Some praised him for being secure in himself, happy to play a diverse range of roles, and supporting the gay community.
Some straight men offered a more homophobic take, saying they could never kiss another man, even as an actor. Others accused him of taking queer roles from queer performers.
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