Anthony Mackie says he was surprised to hear that he — and not just one of his costars — had received an Emmy nomination this month.
“I was at work…and I look over and everybody’s like, ‘Congratulations!” And I was like, ‘Oh, what white dude got nominated?'” Mackie told host Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “Cause I’m the white dude legend when it comes to nominations and wins.”
The Captain America: Civil War veteran was on a set when he learned that he’d been nominated in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work in Apple TV+’s The Studio. His competition is Jon Bernthal from The Bear, but also several actors from the same series as him: Bryan Cranston, Dave Franco, and a couple of legendary directors named Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese, who played versions of themselves in the Hollywood-centric series.
“So I made Ryan Gosling famous, I made Jeremy Renner famous, I made Bryan Cranston famous,” Mackie joked, “I made — now — Ron Howard famous. I’m like, ‘If you want to get nominated, I’m the dude.'”
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Anthony Mackie and Jeremy Renner support ‘The Hurt Locker’ in 2008
Good things do seem to happen to actors after they work with Mackie, who teased in a 2024 interview with EW that he was responsible for Gosling’s success, having costarred with Gosling in the 2006 movie Half Nelson, for which Gosling received his first best actor Oscar nod. Then, in 2008, Mackie costarred with Renner in The Hurt Locker, for which, yep, Renner was nominated for his first Oscar in the same category.
Mackie also costarred with Cranston in 2016 TV movie All the Way, for which the Breaking Bad star was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie. It wasn’t Cranston’s first nomination, but surely the Mackie effect was in play.
Of course, none of them, especially Howard — who could fill a shelf with the Emmys, Oscars, Golden Globes, and even the Grammy that he’s won — is hurting for industry accolades.
When Fallon quipped that Mackie is the “secret sauce” in luring awards, he agreed.
“I am the jelly in the doughnut, you know what I’m saying?” Mackie said.
Fallon noted that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s star own nod is in a highly competitive category, to which he agreed.
“So the way I look at it,” Mackie said, “I’m very honored and proud to be nominated. But the reality of it is, I’m excited to be in second place, because it’s Ron Howard and Scorsese. So one of them is going to take it, but they’re going to take votes from the other person, so I’m going to be in second.”
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Mackie said he doesn’t care about taking home the award.
“Winning is being nominated against Scorsese and Ron Howard,” he said. “Because one of them gonna have to say, ‘Damn, I lost to Anthony Mackie.'” He teased that his competitors are “shaking.”
The Emmys air Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS.
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