Anthony Mackie, who played Marvel’s Sam Wilson – aka Captain America’s sidekick, the Falcon, shared how he accidentally got punched in the face by Will Smith while shooting a film in Budapest in 2019.
Wilson revealed the funny story during an interview on The Jess Cagle show on SiriusXM, while promoting his new film at the time Outside The Wire.
You can catch the interview here:
Mackie attended Will Smith’s 50th Birthday party in Budapest back in 2019 after his publicist asked if he wanted to present Smith with a cake.
“So, I’m like, ‘Holy shit yes. It’s Will Smith. Of course.’ So, we’re all on stage. Will Smith does like a whole concert I’m on stage with Will Smith doing a concert. I’m losing my mind. Right? So, the cake comes out, we bring the cake out, Will Smith sees me and he goes, ‘Hey, Anthony Mackie.’ I’m like, Will Smith knows my name. Right? So, I go to like high five. I don’t know what I was trying to do, but like, I was trying to hug him and he thought I was coming in for like a high five. So, he like tried to grab my arm and he punched me in the jaw so hard. Like he hit me with a right cross so hard. Then he grabbed me and he’s like, ‘you’re good?’ I was like, ‘I think so. I think we’re in a fight, are we in a fight?’ He’s like, ‘no, no, I’m sorry.’” said Mackie on The Jess Cagle Show.
The show’s co-host, Julia Cunningham, then joked about how unbelievable it is of Smith to punch him. He jokingly replied that Smith is “an angry human being”.
He continued with a laugh saying: “Will Smith punched me in the jaw. He’s an angry human being. I know he meant to do it. There is no way you mess up a hug with a punch in the jaw.”
Mackie quoted Smith’s role as the legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali in 2001’s Ali – “Protect yourself. Cause dude came in. I mean, woo! It was a punch, but I took a punch from Mohammad Ali. I can say it,” he tells Cunningham.