Anthony Mackie on lack of roles for black Hollywood actors: 'We have passed the heyday of black cinema'
theGRIO VIDEO - Anthony Mackie will have two films in theaters this month, Runner Runner (now playing nationwide), and The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, which hits theaters this Friday...
Anthony Mackie will have two films in theaters this month, Runner Runner (now playing nationwide), and The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, which hits theaters this Friday.
However, the 35-year-old actor still feels there’s some progress to be made Hollywood with casting black actors in a wide range of character roles.
“The problem is we have passed the ‘heyday’ of black cinema, and that’s why you look at the The Best Man [Holiday] that’s coming out… it’s the same people that was in The Best Man years ago,” Mackie said in an interview with theGrio. “They don’t really make those movies anymore.”
According to the New York Times, 2013 is “a breakout year for black films,” with nearly a dozen prominent movies being released by and about African-Americans. Among those films, Fruitvale Station, 12 Years a Slave, and The Butler stand out as award contenders.
With that said, Mackie does not feel like we are currently in the midst of a black film renaissance.
“I think we are in a period of people not getting the opportunities to do the movies that they want to do, so they’re starting to be creative,” the 8 Mile star said. “I think a lot of people were just flabbergasted at the idea that Quentin Tarantino did a movie about slavery and got so much acclaim. So now people are standing up, Like ‘yo, you know what? I’m not going to allow my history to be told by someone outside of that.’”
“You won’t do a movie about Queen Elizabeth and some black dude from Queens will direct it. It just won’t happen. You won’t do a movie about the Holocaust and some Asian dude from China will direct it, it just won’t happen.”
Mackie can currently be seen staring alongside Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake in the crime thriller Runner Runner.
