Anthony Mackie is opening up about how he almost lost his role in “The Hurt Locker” because of another director’s unreleased film.
During a recent episode of Variety‘s “Know Their Lines,” Mackie shared the backstory behind being cast in the 2009 Oscar-winner.
“‘Hurt Locker’ is probably one of the most important acting experiences I had,” he began. “We shot that in 2007, and I remember I was doing a movie in North Carolina with quite possibly the worst director to ever direct. Ironically, because of that the movie never came out.”
He continued, “Because of that, the movie went over and I had to pull out of ‘Hurt Locker.’ They offered it to somebody else, and he said no because it wasn’t enough money.”
Despite Mackie being tied up with the other film, the production offered him the role again and was willing to wait until he wrapped the unreleased project.
“I went from this sucky director who had no business in being in the business or in the director’s chair to Kathryn Bigelow,” Mackie said. “The moment I landed in Amman, Jordan, we hit the ground running [with] cultural research, military research, character studies – the real work a director does. It really was poignant to me the type of people I want to work with and the type of people who shouldn’t be working.”
Mackie’s performance in “The Hurt Locker” was a career-defining role as he played Sergeant J.T. Sanborn, a soldier and member of the fictional bomb disposal unit in Baghdad, Iraq.
The film received widespread critical praise for its portrayal of the war in Iraq. At the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010, “The Hurt Locker” took home six awards from its nine nominations for best motion picture, best achievement in directing, best writing, original screenplay, best achievement in film editing, best achievement in sound mixing and best achievement in sound editing.
Watch the entire video below.