Anthony Mackie was teased about All the Way weight gain
Anthony Mackie struggled to pile on the pounds to portray Martin Luther King, Jr. in new movie All The Way, branding it a "headache".
The Hurt Locker star had just finished production on Captain America: Civil War, in which he plays Captain America's superhero sidekick Sam Wilson/The Falcon, and he had been hitting the gym to tone up for the part.
However, instead of staying in shape, Anthony had to undo all the
muscle work he had achieved so he could really become the civil
rights leader for All the Way, the TV film adaptation of the hit
Broadway play.
The 37-year-old admits the physical differences between the two
jobs proved to be an unexpected challenge.
"Unfortunately, I did Captain America before I did All the Way,"
Anthony told TheWrap.com. "(Director) Jay Roach wanted me to gain a
few pounds, so it was a little bit of a change. The weight was the
biggest headache. I put on 10, 15 pounds."
The extra weight around his waistline turned Anthony into a target
at home as he was teased about his heavier figure by his wife,
childhood sweetheart Sheletta Chapital, who he wed in 2014.
"It got to the point to where my wife was calling me 'Fat Mackie,'"
he laughed.
Anthony also had to head back to school to research his role,
visiting King's alma mater, Morehouse College, to view and read his
collection of writings. He also received plenty of reading material
from Roach, which really helped him to develop his portrayal.
He explained, "The first conversation I had with Jay, he sent me
tons and tons of clippings and writing and essays about Dr. King. I
read this book called Bearing the Cross (by Pulitzer Prize-winning
King biographer David J. Garrow). And Tavis Smiley wrote a book
called Death of a King, which was a really amazing look at the last
365 days of Dr. King's life. It was probably my most important
piece of source material."
All the Way also features Bryan Cranston reprising his role of
President Lyndon B. Johnson from the stage show, and Anthony admits
part of the attraction of the project was to set the record
straight about the nation's 36th leader.
"All I heard (as a kid) was how Lyndon B. Johnson got us into the
Vietnam War, Lyndon B. Johnson was a wasted president," he
recalled. "Ironically, the more I learned about him and read about
him, I saw he was a great president. The Emancipation Proclamation
would just be a piece of paper if not for the Civil Rights Act of
1964. There was no president who did what he did in eight months.
He was a phenomenal president and I think that shouldn't be
overlooked."
All the Way aired on cable network HBO on Saturday (21May16).