How Anthony Mackie Amused Himself Between Takes On The Set Of Avengers: Infinity War And Endgame

Anthony Mackie as The Falcon in Civil War's opening sequence

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While Avengers like Captain America and Iron Man see a lot of screen time in Marvel films like Endgame and Infinity War, some of the lesser known Avengers have a little more free time during shooting. When it comes to Anthony Mackie, who has taken back up his role of The Falcon in the ongoing The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series on Disney+, he used his free time on the set of Avengers in a pretty amusing way.

Much like his character Sam Wilson in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie hails from Louisiana and is an avid fisherman. In his appearance on Hot Ones, Mackie is asked what his favorite fishing story is. He says that between shooting for the last two Avenger films he would go fishing on the lakes that were present near set. While it was probably a new sight to behold for other’s on set, it sounds like Mackie had a lot of fun. Here’s how he puts it:

Oh definitely. Great question. No one has ever asked me this before. OK so while we were shooting Endgame and Infinity War they had these huge lakes and ponds on the properties. So in between takes I would go fishing. I bought an outdoor grill for my trailer, like fresh fish right on set, which some people had a problem with until they taste the fish--then they understood my situation.

I’m not sure why another would have a problem with Anthony Mackie stretching his wings a little in between scenes - a bird’s gotta fly! Whether it was the fishy smell or just that it may have taken a little extra effort to gather the Avengers for filming if Mackie was MIA, I’m sure supplying fresh fish made it all worth it.

It doesn’t sound like this is a new practice for Anthony Mackie, either. In the same appearance, he tells another story of being on set of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter where he caught a giant 5 foot 5 inch gar fish by tying the line to his truck and driving it out of the water. Apparently, Mackie tries to find time to fish whenever he sees water, it doesn’t matter what set he’s on.

Anthony Mackie's time in the MCU is available on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

It’s interesting that Anthony Mackie’s The Falcon has been set up by the MCU to be from Louisiana and having grown up on a fishing boat, because that’s actually a diversion from the comics. Originally, The Falcon is not the son of a fisherman, but the son of a reverend from Harlem. It almost seems like the MCU may have changed some details of The Falcon’s story to better mirror the actor playing him. This may be a nice touch, seeing as a lot of Marvel’s characters become pretty interchangeable with their actor.

I find it hard to believe that there’s anything boring about being on set of an Avengers movie, but it is true that Anthony Mackie didn’t see too much screen time during Endgame or Infinity War compared to other Avengers. Of course, he was one of the many dusted characters. It’s his time to shine though, and I doubt he’ll be catching many fish on the set of the phase four’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, seeing as he is one of the titular characters and his presence in the MCU is getting more prevalent. You can check him out on Disney+ now, with new episodes dropping every Friday until April 23rd.

Carlie Hoke
Content Writer

Constantly thinking about books, coffee, and the existential dread I feel from Bo Burnham’s Inside.  While writing I’m also raising a chaotic toddler, who may or may not have picked up personality traits from watching one too many episodes of Trailer Park Boys.