ANTHONY MACKIE ESCAPED DRUG RUNNING

Anthony Mackie stars in Half Nelson as a drug dealer from the tough streets of Brooklyn New York who tries to recruit his jailed partner’s teenage sister to run drugs for him. Born and raised in gritty New Orleans, Anthony says if the temptation to deal drugs reared its ugly head, there was always someone to save him.

Truth be told the street smart actor didn’t really have what it took to be a bad kid.

“Growing up in the neighborhood every time I wanted to go to the dark side all the guys on the block would be, ‘no that’s not you. You don’t have to do that.’ I don’t think you can look at it that way. This is a movie of no stereotypes. The only reason you think he’s bad is because you want drug dealers to be bad people therefore it gives you the right to hate him. But the thing about it is not all drug dealers are bad people. Drug dealers are bad people just like businessmen are good people. We both know that’s a lie.”

No longer the fat kid, Anthony has back to back athletic films coming out in the fall. In Crossover he plays a street basketball player and a college football player in We Are Marshall co-starring Matthew McConaughey as the team’s coach.rn

“When I was growing up I was the fat kid on the block so I was the kid who tried to steal her bike and got beat up by, yeah that was me. Hey puberty works wonders you know.”