How Much Is Anthony Mackie Really Worth?

Anthony Mackie is an actor who has enjoyed an impressive acting career that's spanned over two decades and has earned him a net worth of a cool $8 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Even though his plan wasn't originally to become an actor, the New Orleans native's love for the theater and perfecting his craft led him to a successful career in Hollywood. Mackie got his big break when he was cast as rapper Papa Doc in Eminem's 2002 critically acclaimed flick "8 Mile." From there, he appeared in a plethora of movies and landed minor roles on television shows.

In a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, Mackie shared, "When I started in this business, I told my agent at the time I wanted to do a Western because I grew up loving Clint Eastwood and all of his Westerns and 'Gunsmoke' and 'Silverado.' And I wanted to be a superhero. Those are my two things. Other than that, it's free game." Mackie has never been in a Western, but in 2014, he became a global superstar when his dream of playing a superhero came to fruition when he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Between Mackie's work as a blockbuster superhero and his growing CV, it's apparent that his career isn't slowing down anytime soon. It's no surprise that the star has a bank account that echoes all of his hard work and dedication. As his career continues to flourish, we're positive his net worth will also continue to rise.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Anthony Mackie didn't always want to be a Hollywood actor when he grew up. Initially, the "Avengers: Endgame" actor wanted to become an engineer like his older brother Calvin Mackie, an award-winning engineer who taught as a professor at the College of Engineering at Tulane University.

However, when Mackie joined the program at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, he decided to take a new path. After watching a performance of one of William Shakespeare's works, he was bitten by the acting bug and told The Guardian, "I was tripped out by it. At that moment, I knew that I wanted to do theater and I wanted to be an actor." In a 2021 interview with Sharp magazine, he disclosed, "I became the man I wanted to be in the theater." Mackie ultimately went on to study at the illustrious Juilliard School.

In his appearance on the popular YouTube series "Hot Ones," Mackie recalled his acting school days and shared that, while some occupations value experiences over education, he wouldn't trade the time he spent honing his craft for anything. He said, "I've learned a lot, being on set in the business ... there's nothing more important to me than the training I got in drama school." 

It's evident that all of Anthony Mackie's training has paid off. From dramas to comedies to action movies, Mackie has done it all. Throughout his career, Mackie has appeared in dozens of films, including "Million Dollar Baby," starring Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, and Morgan Freeman, as well as Samuel L. Jackson's "The Man." In 2009, Mackie played the legendary rapper Tupac Shakur in the movie "Notorious" about the late great rapper Notorious B.I.G.

One of Mackie's most notable movies includes the comedy "Pain & Gain," in which he portrayed criminal bodybuilder Adrian Doorbal, alongside Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg. One of his most captivating performances was in Kathryn Bigelow's Academy Award-winning war drama "The Hurt Locker," in which Mackie played Sergeant JT Sanborn, who was trained to detect, defuse, and dispose of bombs for the U.S. Army.

While we don't know the salary that Mackie took home for his early movies, RepublicWorld.com reported that he took a pay cut for his appearance in "Pain & Gain" in order for the film to not go over budget. He was also paid a low salary for "The Hurt Locker." Discussing the making of the movie, he divulged to the Collider, "Not paid much, but paid nonetheless. For me, it was more so the experience."

When Anthony Mackie joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, not only did his celebrity status grow, but so did his net worth. Unfortunately, his big paydays didn't happen overnight. According to Men's Health, for Mackie's second Marvel movie "Avengers: Age of Ultron," his paycheck was reportedly around $100,000, so we could assume that his earnings for his first MCU film, "Winter Soldier," were a bit lower.

To date, Mackie has been in six Marvel films as the Falcon, including "Ant-Man" and "Captain America: Civil War," though it's unclear what kind of paycheck he sees from being in the MCU today. With the dollar amount that he is worth now, we could estimate that the actor was likely paid a few million for portraying the superhero over the years.

In August 2021, Deadline reported that Mackie secured a deal to star in a forthcoming "Captain America" movie as the titular superhero himself. Months earlier in a sit-down with USA Today, he was asked if a new "Captain America" was in the works and spoke on his involvement in the MCU's fourth phase. "It's always a surprise. I found out [about being in Phase 4] in the grocery store, buying red beans and rice," he said. He added, "The idea of being the title character in a Marvel movie, there's no words to describe that, especially as a Black actor. Black actors don't get those opportunities." Supposedly this will be a massive payday for Mackie, who could earn $10 million for starring in the fourth installment (via We Got This Covered).

Anthony Mackie is no stranger to acting on the small screen. At the beginning of his career, Mackie had minor roles in television shows like NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and the Netflix original series "Black Mirror." Mackie even played Martin Luther King Jr. in the made-for-TV movie "All the Way," as noted on his IMDb page.

The actor has made quite the impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, of course, and in 2021, he starred in his own Disney+ Marvel series, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier." In the show, the two superheroes — the Falcon, played by Mackie, and the Winter Soldier, played by Sebastian Stan — team up for a mission.

The year before, Mackie joined Season 2 of Netflix's "Altered Carbon" as the lead character Takeshi Kovacs, the long-surviving mercenary who belonged to a group of elite warriors taken down 250 years before the show started. Mackie told Den of Geek, "I was interested to show a different facet of him, a different side of him."

It is unknown exactly how much Mackie was paid to reprise his role in "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," but it's been estimated that he was paid $475,000 per episode for the Netflix series (via Variety). Season 2 consisted of eight episodes, which would have made for a whopping $3.8 million payday for Mackie.

While many celebrities enjoy spending their newfound wealth on a number of super extravagant items, the complete opposite appears to be true for Anthony Mackie. Mackie is an owner of a 19th century home located on Esplanade Avenue, according to New Orleans public radio station WWNO 89.9. He also has a 25-foot pontoon boat that he enjoys fishing on. But other than those purchases, he doesn't seem to make any super luxurious purchases. 

Instead, Mackie has used some of his riches to further his career. According to Nola.com, he has closed a deal to purchase 20 acres of land in his hometown to build a studio that would produce movies and television shows. The studio is reportedly named East Studios, LLC.

"I think that's everyone's desire in the business, to get to the point where they can start developing material," Mackie stated in an interview with Forbes in January 2021. He also revealed he was working on a script and shared, "It's a script that I can direct, it'll be my directorial debut, and it's about a little girl during civil rights times. I probably won't even be in it. I'll just be the producer and director." 

Mackie already has three producer credits under his belt, with two other projects in pre-production at the time of this writing, according to his IMDb page.

Alongside country singer Kelsea Ballerini, Anthony Mackie was locked down as the host of the 2022 CMT Music Awards in Nashville on April 11, 2022. "I had the pleasure of presenting at last year's CMT Music Awards and received the warmest welcome from the country music community and the city of Nashville," he said in a statement. He added, "I can't wait to get back to Music City to co-host this year's awards with the amazing Kelsea Ballerini."

Even though it's an honor to host the fan-voted awards show, a big paycheck most likely is not attached to the hosting gig. It appears that hosts for award shows, in general, aren't paid that much money. Alec Baldwin, who hosted the Oscars in 2010, told The Hollywood Reporter that the pay was low during an interview. He stated, "They don't pay you any money; the Oscars pay you like chicken feed. It's all about the honor of helping to extol film achievement." According to a 2013 report by the outlet, the host makes between $15,000 and $25,000 for the gig.

Forbes has shared that a Grammy host makes between $5,000 and $20,000, so Mackie and his co-host may receive somewhere between $5,000 and $20,000. However, we're sure Mackie's looking more forward to the experience of it all than the salary.