Fun to explore the idea of what could be: Anthony Mackie on 'Twisted Metal'

New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) He has played Captain America and now he is John Doe, a milkman with amnesia in the post-apocalyptic United States in his new show "Twisted Metal". Anthony Mackie says the idea of seeing the world in a different reality is fun.

Developed by Michael Jonathan Smith, "Twisted Metal" is based on the popular video game of the same name and is set in a dystopian America where civilization has collapsed and society is divided into violent city-states. The show started in 2023 and returned with its second chapter on August 1.

Asked whether speculative nature of stories in modern shows and movies makes him anxious, Mackie said he rather looks at it as an opportunity. "When I was a kid, watching Star Wars was the exact same thing. It was the idea of 'Wow, in the future we could actually live on different planets and have robots, lightsabers and all this stuff, I could be a Jedi.' So it's just the idea of seeing the world in reality in a different phase and format and just how that affects us moving forward," Mackie told PTI in an interview.

Dystopia is a concept that has been explored in many Hollywood films be it Stanley Kubrick's classic "A Clockwork Orange", the more recent totalitarian regime shown in "The Hunger Games", the post-apocalyptic wasteland of "Mad Max: Fury Road" or the artificial intelligence takeover in "The Matrix".

"There's so much potential and opportunity. It's just about what we do with it. I think that's what our show kind of encompasses," he said about exploring the concept in fiction.

In "Twisted Metal", Mackie's John Doe is given a mission to traverse the desolate United States to deliver a mysterious package with unknown contents. He faces a life-altering opportunity but must confront ruthless marauders in deadly and destructive vehicles to secure a chance at a better future.

Mackie's journey in movies began with 2003's indie movie "Brother to Brother", followed by supporting parts in "Million Dollar Baby", "Half Nelson", "Eagle Eye", "Real Steel" and "Gangster Squad".

He was noticed for his performance as filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow's 2008's war drama "The Hurt Locker" and was later cast as Wilson in "Captain America: Winter Soldier", a role he has now played in multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) titles.

Reflecting on his career of over two decades, Mackie, 46, said he seeks roles that challenge him.

"There's a modicum of reasons that fit into the fold of a career. My first movie was a movie called 'Brother to Brother', which nobody saw but it was so important to me because I wanted to learn and grow from that character as a human being.

"Just like now I learn and grow so much from the characters I play, like Sam Wilson, who has made me so much of a better dad and a better human being." Mackie said John Doe, the wisecracking, resourceful delivery driver from action-comedy series "Twisted Metal", has also taught him a lot.

"(He) has made me so much more inquisitive and optimistic about the potential and the world that I live in and seeing everything for the first time and enjoying it for that first time and the spontaneity of just existing in the moment," he added.

For Mackie, acting isn’t just about performance, it’s also about immersing fully into a character.

"It's always about the idea of allowing those characters to affect you and allowing those characters to be who they actually are from the page to real life and giving them the freedom to be that," the 46-year-old actor said.

"Twisted Metal” season two, which currently streams on SonyLIV, also stars Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Seanoa, Will Arnett, Thomas Haden Church, and Anthony Carrigan. PTI RB SMR BK BK