Anthony Mackie and Ryan Gosling have been two of the top names in the Hollywood industry. While the duo have even worked together, the Marvel actor went on to claim that because of him, Gosling gained popularity.
In his conversation with Entertainment Weekly, the actor took the responsibility of making the Canadian native famous by working with him in the 2006 movie, Half Nelson. In the video segment of the interview, Mackie was shown photos of various celebrities and was asked to break down the roles he portrayed with the actors.
As the video progressed further, a picture of Ryan Gosling appeared, and the actor went on to blurt out, “I made this guy famous.” He further reveals that he played his first onscreen role alongside the Barbie actor in the 2006 movie.
He went on to say, “We did his first movie together. Nobody cares? That was a good memory.” As for Half Nelson, Gosling played the role of a middle school teacher who is dealing with drug problems. Mackie played the character of Frank, a friend of the lead.
While the MCU actor’s claims might be partially true, the Fall Guy actor had already played main characters in major movies like The Notebook, which released in 2004, and Remember the Titans, alongside Denzel Washington.
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Speaking of Half Nelson’s importance in Gosling’s career, the Captain America actor revealed that the movie gave the Canadian native his first critically acclaimed role, as well as the first Oscar nomination.
Further, as Mackie came across his Half Nelson poster, he went on to state, “I made a lot of dudes famous.” He further recalls a story from the sets of the film. Anthony stated, “A cat comes over—nobody knew where this cat was from; nobody checked this cat; nobody vasectosized this cat. Where is this cat from? Ryan picks up the cat, nuzzles it, and starts rubbing the cat.”
Recalling his reaction to the incident, Mackie revealed, “That cat was nasty. It was like mangy. It looked like a creature in the ‘Thriller’ video with Michael Jackson. That’s how it was walking. He picked that s— up, man! He picked that s— up! That boy is wild. True story, ask him.”
On the work front, Anthony Mackie is set to return to the big screens as Sam Wilson in Captain America: Brave New World. The movie will hit theaters in 2025.
