Give yourself time to be bad and wrong, Anthony Mackie advises local students

Being bad and failing are necessary steps in the steep climb to success — a sentiment which Hollywood star Anthony Mackie drove home when speaking to some film and media students in Singapore recently.

The 46-year-old Marvel superhero sat down at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre last Thursday (Nov 21) for the Disney APAC Content Showcase to share about his extensive experience in the acting and theatre industry.

The actor revealed that he took a while — around five years — to find his footing in the industry, calling it a "very long time".

Few might know that prior to making his Hollywood debut, Anthony spent 12 years in theatre, calling the transition to screen acting "a learning process".

He added: "Because my style in theatre was completely different. There are certain movies that I watch from the first five years of my career and I go (expresses disgust) because I didn't go to film school.

"That's why I feel the best thing about going to film school is that you get to be bad in school. So that when you get onto set, you're not bad.

"It doesn't make sense to be good in school. Like, be bad in school!" Anthony stressed.

"And then once you get out of there, it's like, 'okay, I know what doesn't work, so I'm going to try and do this stuff that works'."

He needed to fail

Recounting his own brush with failure, Anthony spoke about an audition he had attended in 2002 for which he received a callback. Ultimately, he did not make the cut.

The role later went to another actor who "blew up" and celebrated five successful years of fame, Anthony shared.

But the journey has made him realise he needed to fail.

"I would have never been able to do the work that I needed to do to get to where I am today, because I needed to not get that role — so I could hit those bumps!"

The Marvel star, who counts rapper Busta Rhymes and actor Don Cheadle among his inspirations, imparted the students with a sound piece of advice: "When the [studios] call, you've messed up enough to know how not to mess up. So give yourself the time to be bad. Have the patience to do the work to be ready when they call."

Awestruck and inspired

AsiaOne spoke to some students after the event, who shared with us their takeaways and joy from seeing the superhero up close and personal.

Seah Si Yang, a 24-year-old student pursuing a film producing degree at Lasalle College of the Arts, told us that he has been a fan of Anthony for 14 years. The aspiring producer remembered seeing the actor in the 2002 film 8 Mile which he watched when he was 10.

He was "awestruck" to see him and was surprised by how open he was about his experiences as an actor.

Film student Victoria Khine, 18, from the School of the Arts also shared with us how Anthony's journey as an actor resonated with her struggles as an aspiring filmmaker.

She said: "I think I definitely want to gain something from how resilient he is. Because I think sometimes I get disheartened pretty easily, like when something doesn't go the way I intend it to.

"But after hearing from him, it really helped me realise things will go wrong all the time. But you just have to accept it and move past that and keep going."

A decades-long dream

Anthony, who plays the eponymous character in Captain America: Brave New World, slated for worldwide release early next year, revealed that he had wanted to be an actor since he was seven.

And not just an actor, but a 'superhero' at that.

"This is before there were any Marvel movies, when it was just Superman floating in space," Anthony elaborated.

If so, his seven-year-old self would surely be geeking out to hear that he went on to play two superheroes, including Falcon.

Recounting his joy at receiving the iconic role of "Cap", Anthony said: "For me, becoming Captain America is kind of like me winning my Oscar."

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kristy.chua@asiaone.com

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