In 2002, Mackie worked as an
understudy to
Don Cheadle in
Suzan-Lori Parks' play
Topdog/Underdog and won an
OBIE Award for his role in
Carl Hancock Rux's play
Talk. He appeared in the 2002 film
8 Mile as the main antagonist, Papa Doc. His first starring role in a feature film was the 2003 independent film
Brother to Brother, where he played Perry, a young artist who struggles to adjust to the world as a gay black man. The following year, Mackie appeared in
Million Dollar Baby, which won the
Academy Award for Best Picture, and starred in
Spike Lee's
She Hate Me. In 2006, Mackie starred in
Half Nelson,
Crossover, and
We Are Marshall. In March 2008, Mackie starred in three plays by playwright
August Wilson at the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC: ''
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences, and Jitney'' – all part of "August Wilson's 20th Century", a month-long presentation of ten staged readings of Wilson's "Century Cycle". Mackie has participated several times in the "24-Hour Plays" held in New York City each fall. In mid-2009, he played the role of
Pentheus in the New York City
Public Theater's
Shakespeare in the Park production of
The Bacchae. He starred with
Christopher Walken in
A Behanding in Spokane on Broadway in February 2010. Mackie portrayed late American
rapper Tupac Shakur in the 2009 film
Notorious. He had previously portrayed Shakur in the play
Up Against the Wind in 2001, while attending Juilliard. In 2009, he appeared in
The Hurt Locker. Mackie also narrated
The Best That Never Was, a documentary about football player
Marcus Dupree. He appeared in the 2011 film
The Adjustment Bureau as Harry Mitchell, a sympathetic member of a shadowy supernatural group that controls human destiny. Mackie co-starred, as
Sam Wilson / Falcon, in the
Marvel Studios sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). He reprised the role in multiple
Marvel Cinematic Universe films over the next several years, including 2015's
Avengers: Age of Ultron and
Ant-Man, 2016's
Captain America: Civil War, 2018's
Avengers: Infinity War, and 2019's
Avengers: Endgame. In 2016, Mackie portrayed
Martin Luther King Jr. in the HBO TV drama
All the Way. In 2018, Mackie appeared as gang leader King in
The Hate U Give, a film adaptation of the bestselling
novel of the same name. In 2019, Mackie had a role in the
Netflix science-fiction film,
IO. In July 2018, it was announced that Mackie was cast in the role of
Takeshi Kovacs for the second season of Netflix's science-fiction series,
Altered Carbon. In March 2019, it was announced that Mackie was cast in the fifth season of Netflix's science-fiction
anthology series,
Black Mirror. The following month,
Disney confirmed a Marvel television series starring Mackie and
Sebastian Stan, called
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, would be aired on their upcoming
Disney+ streaming service, debuting on March 19, 2021. Mackie starred in and produced the science fiction film
Outside the Wire which was released by Netflix on January 15, 2021. In August 2021, Mackie closed the deal to reprise the role in the fourth
Captain America film,
Captain America: Brave New World. In January 2022, it was announced that Mackie will helm the drama film
Spark, starring Saniyya Sidney, as his directorial debut project. In February 2022, he was set to lead action film
Ending Things along with
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, directed by Kevin Sullivan and star in a live-action series
adaptation of the game
Twisted Metal at Peacock. In 2022, it was announced Mackie would be attached to a film based on the
1956 Sugar Bowl which features his brother's Alma mater
Georgia Tech. Mackie also appears in the 2024 documentary
Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast. Mackie is set to reprise his role as Captain America in the upcoming
Avengers movies,
Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and
Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). ==Personal life==