Anthony Mackie

Biography:

Anthony Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor known for his diverse work in film, television, and theater, as well as for his role as Sam Wilson / Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mackie is the son of Martha (née Gordon) and Willie Mackie Sr., a carpenter and owner of Mackie Roofing. His brother, Calvin Mackie, is a former engineering professor at Tulane University and a member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Mackie attended Warren Easton Sr. High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) before graduating from the North Carolina School of the Arts’ drama program in 1997. He later studied acting at The Juilliard School, where he was part of Group 30 (1997–2001) alongside Tracie Thoms and Lee Pace.

Mackie began his professional career in theater, serving as an understudy to Don Cheadle in Topdog/Underdog (2002) and earning an OBIE Award for his performance in Talk. That same year, he made his film debut as the antagonist “Papa Doc” in 8 Mile. His first leading role came in Brother to Brother (2003), playing a young gay Black artist. He gained further recognition through roles in Million Dollar Baby (2004), She Hate Me (2004), Half Nelson (2006), Crossover (2006), and We Are Marshall (2006).

A frequent performer in stage productions, Mackie appeared in several August Wilson plays at the Kennedy Center in 2008, including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, and Jitney. He also starred in The Bacchae (2009) for Shakespeare in the Park and in A Behanding in Spokane on Broadway (2010) alongside Christopher Walken.

Mackie portrayed Tupac Shakur in Notorious (2009), having previously played the rapper in the stage play Up Against the Wind (2001). That same year, he appeared in the Oscar-winning film The Hurt Locker. His later roles included The Adjustment Bureau (2011), The Hate U Give (2018), and Netflix’s IO (2019).

In 2014, Mackie debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Sam Wilson / Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, reprising the role in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). He later starred in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) and is set to lead Captain America: Brave New World (2025), followed by Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).

Beyond Marvel, Mackie portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in HBO’s All the Way (2016) and took leading roles in Netflix’s Altered Carbon (Season 2, 2020) and Black Mirror (2019). He starred in and produced Outside the Wire (2021) and was announced to make his directorial debut with the drama Spark (2022). He was also cast in the action film Ending Things alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas and as the lead in the live-action Twisted Metal series for Peacock.

In 2024, he appeared in Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast and is also developing a film about the 1956 Sugar Bowl, which features his brother’s alma mater, Georgia Tech.

Mackie was married to his longtime partner and childhood sweetheart, Sheletta Chapital, from 2014 to 2018. They share four sons and reside in New Orleans. In a 2025 interview, Mackie said he is focused on raising his children, reflecting on how difficult trust and vulnerability can be in relationships.

Outside acting, Mackie once owned a Brooklyn bar called NoBar, which operated from 2011 to 2015. In 2013, he was fined and temporarily banned from driving in New York following a DUI incident. He has publicly spoken about having dyslexia, sharing his experiences during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.