Anthony Mackie Remembers Marvel Co-Star Chadwick Boseman: “I Cared About Him Dearly”

Anthony Mackie remembered how he met his Marvel co-star Chadwick Boseman. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star talked to ET about that fateful day and said that he “cared about him dearly.” In the aftermath of the Black Panther star’s terrible passing, fans became much more aware of how far Boseman’s reach was. In small acts of kindness, there are few people in the MCU he didn’t share some small moment with. But, for the new Captain America hopeful, the introduction story is personal. Boseman absolutely loved his alma mater of Howard University. It would just so happen that the Falcon actor would wander through one day, and there’s no way that Mackie could have known that their paths would intertwine in this way down the line. It adds some real depth to a friendship most would assume completely derives from work.

“It’s funny, I have a lot of memories of Chad. I cared about him dearly, as a friend. The first time I met him was in 1998,” he explained. “I went down to Howard and he was directing a play there. My girlfriend at the time brought me into the theater to check out the Elizabeth Catholic collection, and he was in the black box in an office chair spinning around the room.”

Mackie continued, “She was like, ‘Hey Chad, I want you to meet my classmate at Juilliard, Anthony.’ He goes, ‘Wait, I’m concentrating. Don’t break my vibe.’ He just spins around the room, I was like, ‘It’s nice to meet you, man.’ He’s like, ‘I’m almost there!’ [Laughs] Once everything kind of took off for him, I was like, ‘Remember the first time we met?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to talk about it. I was going through a lot at a young age.’”

Moving forward in the MCU, the Falcon star wants to continue to inspire youth like Boseman did during his time behind the mask.

“I’ve been in the business for 20 years and I’ve been fortunate to do some amazing stuff and work with amazing people,” Mackie mused last year. “For me, to be a Black man in 2019 and be given the helm of Captain America with the history of Black men in this country is a monumental step, not only in entertainment, but also in my life. It’s been extremely emotional. Look, my grandfather was a sharecropper, you know what I mean? There’s a lot of history and pain and triumph and joy that comes along with me being Captain America.”

Did you know these two knew each other? Let us know down in the comments!