After losing the Oscar one too many times, Anthony Mackie seemed to find his bittersweet validation in his Captain America role.

Anthony Mackie recently took over the mantle of Captain America and inherited the shield from Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers for Brave New World. Even then, while Mackie is set to start a critical new chapter in the MCU, the actor still seems sore from his Oscar snubs. Although he feels validated for the top billing in a major studio blockbuster, Mackie can’t help but lament about the industry’s negligence towards him.

Anthony Mackie as Captain America | image: Marvel Studios

Recalling the recent Golden Globes ceremony where he took to the stage to present the Best Animated Motion Picture award, Anthony Mackie noted how he has been overlooked by the award committees as a contestant. Losing Oscar nods to the likes of Ryan Gosling and Jeremy Renner, Mackie held onto his Captain America achievement as his greatest accomplishment.

Anthony Mackie feels taken for granted by the award committees 

Anthony Mackie in Million Dollar Baby (2004) | image: Warner Bros.

While modern audiences might know Anthony Mackie for his MCU role as Falcon and his upcoming role as the new Captain America, the star has actually delivered some incredible performances throughout his career. From appearing in critically acclaimed movies to working with legends like Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman, Mackie has been an industry staple.

However, despite playing powerful roles in movies like The Hurt Locker and The Banker, Anthony Mackie has been overlooked by Hollywood’s biggest award shows. Speaking with Esquire on this matter, Mackie mentioned how he has never even received an Oscar nomination. Expressing his frustration over his repeated snubs, the actor claimed how the industry has started taking him for granted.

This ain’t no overnight sh*t. It’s always apropos for me when awards season comes up. Because I know I’ve done at least four performances that could have been nominated—if not for a Golden Globe, then an Oscar or an Emmy.

Having recently attended the Golden Globes as a presenter, Anthony Mackie couldn’t help but feel like he should have been there as a nominee, too. But unfortunately, the actor seems to be right about his predictions of getting overlooked by the industry for absolutely no reason. Thereafter, reflecting on the four movies of his career that he believes should have won a nomination, Mackie lamented about his snubs.

Captain America became Anthony Mackie’s bittersweet consolation

Anthony Mackie as Sergeant J. T. Sanborn in The Hurt Locker (2008) | image: Voltage Pictures

According to Anthony Mackie, his 2004 Sundance hit Brother to Brother, where he played a young gay man who developed a friendship with an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance, should have won him his first Oscar nod. Next is 2006’s Half Nelson, where appearing alongside Ryan Gosling’s flailing history teacher, led Gosling to win his first Oscar nod, while Mackie was once again overlooked.

Further, Anthony Mackie cited his performance in The Banker, which narrated the true story of Bernard Garrett, a Black entrepreneur who broke the color line in real estate. However, among all of the above-mentioned movies, the actor believes 2009’s The Hurt Locker is his most notable snub, especially after he broke boundaries with his exceptional role as Sergeant J.T. Sanborn in the defining film about the Iraq war.

Captain America is my Oscar. Because I’ve been overlooked so many times in my career.

Losing the Oscar nod to Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson, and then the actual award to Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker, Anthony Mackie heartbreakingly embraced his role as Captain America as his biggest achievement. Watching his dream of holding an Academy Award take the backseat, Mackie thus looked for consolation in his bittersweet victory of becoming one of MCU’s fan-favorite characters.

Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to debut in theaters on February 14, 2025.