Captain America 4 Star Anthony Mackie Says Filming with Harrison Ford Was 'Surreal'

Anthony Mackie describes working with Harrison Ford as "surreal" and praises the veteran actor's light-hearted and enthusiastic approach to the MCU.

Captain America 4 star, Anthony Mackie shares his experience working with Harrison Ford.

Mackie's excitement reached new heights when he had the opportunity to work alongside Harrison Ford, who's making his debut in the MCU as Thunderbolt Ross in Captain America: Brave New World. Mackie couldn't contain his admiration for Ford, describing the experience as "surreal." As he puts it in an interview with The Wrap, "Harrison was the f–ing man, dude... I was surprised how light-hearted and easy he was, how excited he was to be a part of it."

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, some actors are no strangers to wearing the superhero mantle. But for Mackie, his journey as the Falcon is taking a new turn as he gears up to lead the charge in Captain America: Brave New World. Stepping into the role following Chris Evans' departure, Mackie finds himself in a familiar yet emotional space, filming scenes in the same locations where he started a decade ago.

Anthony Mackie Feels Lucky to Be Involved With the MCU

For Mackie, it was a moment of reflection as he realized how lucky he is to be a part of the Marvel universe, and to see someone like Ford, who has been in the profession for decades, still enthusiastic about being a part of it at 80, added a whole new perspective. He said, "For him to be in this profession for so many years and to see him at 80 excited to be a part of this universe was really dope and it put things in perspective how lucky we are, how lucky I am to be a part of it and bring these characters to life."

The friendship on set seemed to better experience levels, with both Mackie and an extra getting tongue-tied in Ford's presence. Mackie recalled, "I had this monologue and I just couldn’t get it right. I’m like, ‘I’m talking to Harrison Ford. This is crazy.’ And the same day we walk into the boardroom and this extra has one line, all he has to do is say this one line to Harrison and Harrison was like, ‘Give me the report’ and he just couldn’t say the line. It’s Harrison Ford. It was kind of surreal. But once we got our legs on us and we were like, 'Oh, Harrison is just a cool dude,’ it made those scenes much easier.'”

But once the initial awe subsided, the cast found that Ford was just a "cool dude," and the scenes flowed with ease. "These Marvel movies have kind of turned into summer camp. You go to set and there’s people that you’ve known for 10, 12 years now that you’ve worked with and got to know and people have kids and people get divorced and people buy homes. So it’s like going back to see your old friends. So it was really easy," Mackie explained.

Captain America: Brave New World is currently set to release on July 26, 2024.