After Kevin Feige explained to Total Film that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) doesn't have anyone he could really connect with outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. or WWII veterans, Captain America: The Winter Soldier actor Anthony Mackie says that's where his character, Sam Wilson, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, comes in. As for his code name, The Falcon… “The Air Force had a specialty group,” reveals Mackie. “Like the Navy SEALs. But instead of giving them the ability to quietly go in and manoeuvre through hazardous territories, they gave them the ability to fly…” he smiles. “It’s a lot of me on wires screaming and them saying ‘Action’ and me flying around. …I’m deathly afraid of heights, they always say, ‘Oh, we’re just gonna take you this high.’ Then they take me and swing me.”
Mackie then recalled one agonizing experience when he took flight as The Falcon for a practical scene: “When we were in Cleveland, the Russos called me and said, ‘Alright, we’re gonna put you up on a bridge and we want you to jump down. You see you’re about to hit a car, so we want you to stop before you hit the car.’ I’m like, ‘Well, the cable guy is supposed to stop me, because these aren’t real wings.’ They’re like, ‘No, no, no. Just hit the ground and go to the car.’ So they pull me up and they let me go. In midair I realized, ‘I’ve never flown before. So I have no idea how to stop.’ I see the concrete coming towards me, and I realize the rope is gonna catch and I’m gonna swing head first into this car. So I put my feet down and I roll into this cab, hard, and everybody runs over to me and says, ‘Are you okay?’ I’m like, ‘I think I know how to land. Let’s do it again.’”
Anthony Mackie then went on to discuss The Falcon's military-like tactical uniform and wings in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and how they will eventually evolve in the course of future Sam Wilson appearances. “It’s 10 times tougher performing with wings,” admits the actor. “I’m like, ‘Wait, I’m the only dude that’s on strings? Everybody else gets to walk around or drive cars and I gotta fly?’ When we had our first conversation about the movie, my biggest statement to the Russos was, ‘You better not make me look like an idiot.’ That was my greatest fear. Even though I wanted to wear red spandex, I was hugely afraid of looking like a pigeon! As the Falcon aged [in the comics] and grew up, his uniform grew up,” continued Mackie. “The uniform we have now is the uniform of an adult… The Ultimate look gives him a sense of purpose and makes him look like a badass. The wings can look funny at times, so you have to do something to combat that – at no point in time do you want him to show up on film and have people laugh. That’s what we’ve been able to find, between the tactical suit and the Ultimate suit. As the franchise goes on and you see more of me and Captain America, the suit will evolve into the Ultimate look, the hard-leather black look. The suit that he has in this movie is more of a military suit because it’s the first time you see it.” Pick up the latest Total Film issue for more.
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy — the Winter Soldier. Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Georges St-Pierre, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Emily VanCamp and Maximiliano Hernández with Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Redford, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is directed by the team of Anthony & Joe Russo from a screenplay written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely and is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1941. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing the film. Executive producers on the project include Alan Fine, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee. The creative production team on the film includes director of photography Trent Opaloch, production designer Peter Wenham, editors Jeffrey Ford, A.C.E. and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. and three time Oscar®-nominated costume designer Judianna Makovsky. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is set for release on April 4, 2014.