NEED TO KNOW
Anthony Mackie would like some credit for helping his costars earn Emmy nominations.
The Captain America: Brave New World actor, 46, reacted to his recent Emmy nomination for The Studio on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon during a Wednesday, July 23 appearance. He also joked that it was a notable success not only for him, but also for his colleague Ron Howard.
“I’m on set… and I look over and everybody’s like ‘Congratulations!’ And I was like, ‘Oh, what white dude got nominated?’ ‘Cause I’m the white dude legend when it comes to nominations and wins,” Mackie said about learning of his recent nomination.
“So, I made Ryan Gosling famous. I made Jeremy Renner famous. I made Bryan Cranston famous,” he joked. “I made now Ron Howard famous. I’m like, if you want to get nominated, I’m the dude. You know what I mean?”
Mackie was seemingly referring to the films he starred in with the other famous actors, which helped earn them Emmy and Oscar nominations. He starred with Gosling in 2006’s Half Nelson, which garnered Gosling a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars. Mackie’s movies with Renner and Cranston, 2008’s The Hurt Locker and 2016’s All the Way, were also nominated for the Oscars and Emmys, respectively, with Renner and Cranston also earning nods.
As for the Apollo 13 director, 71, Howard earned his first acting Emmy nomination for The Studio, which he starred in with Mackie. The show earned 23 nominations this year — the most ever for a freshman comedy, according to The New York Times.
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
“You’re the secret sauce,” host Jimmy Fallon told Mackie on his Wednesday night show, to which the actor agreed.
“I am the secret sauce. I am the jelly in the donut, you know what I’m saying?” Mackie joked.
Fallon went on to note that it was a “stacked” category for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, where Mackie will compete against Howard, Cranston, Dave Franco, Martin Scorsese (who all were nominated for The Studio) and Jon Bernthal (who was nominated for The Bear).
“So the way I look at it, I’m very honored and proud to be nominated,” he shared.
“But the reality of it is, I’m excited to be in second place,” he explained before sharing his predictions. “Because you know it’s Ron Howard, and it’s Scorsese. So, one of them are going to take it, but they’re going to take votes from the other person. So, I’m going to be in second.”
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
This prompted the audience to laugh as Fallon asked him, “You don’t want to win this?”
“Oh man, I don’t care about no winning. Who cares about… winning is being nominated against Scorsese and Ron Howard… because one of them is going to have to say, ‘Damn, I lost to Anthony Mackie,’ ” he teased.
“They’re thinking about me. They’re shaking,” he jokingly added.
The 2025 Emmy Awards will air live on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS.
