Anthony Mackie -- who stars as Sam Wilson/the Falcon in Marvel Studios' upcoming Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier -- explained why he believes that supporting characters tend to be more interesting than the lead.
Mackie was a recent guest on First We Feast's Hot Ones. Early in the interview, host Sean Evans asked Mackie to elaborate on a 2014 quote, in which the actor said, "The second and third leads are always the best characters." Moreover, Evans asked Mackie how he might redefine his Marvel Cinematic Universe character in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
"The lead character is usually someone just to help push the exposition along, push the story along. He's the one that you ride with throughout the vehicle," Mackie answered. "The best characters are always the third, fourth lead, because they're the ones who actually get to get in and do the dirty work. They're the ones that get to act. So, they're always the ones bouncing and controlling the lead actor -- and he's just bringing them along for the ride. That's why when you watch the Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actor is always a more coveted category than Best Actor."
He continued, "So, with six hours of content, you really get the opportunity to delve into not only the Falcon's backstory, but the Winter Soldier's backstory." In that respect, Anthony likened The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to Marvel's first Disney+ original series, WandaVision. "After watching that show, you have a much richer and deeper relationship with Vision and Wanda now." Mackie explained that pre-Disney+, he would have "one, maybe two nuggets per movie, but the movie was focused on the heavy hitters -- the Iron Mans, the Captain Americas. So, now I get more playtime, so you get to learn more about me."
Mackie made his MCU debut as Sam Wilson in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, subsequently 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). In Endgame's aftermath, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will see Sam and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes wrestle with Captain America's legacy, facing enemies both old and new along the way.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. The series premieres March 19 on Disney+.
Source: YouTube\First We Feast