The Wild Story Behind The Time Anthony Mackie Was Trying To Be A Nice Guy And Take A Fan Picture And Dealt With Oyster Puke Instead

Anthony Mackie asking a shark-related question in NatGeo's Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie
(Image credit: NatGeo)

While Anthony Mackie has been working for a very long time, there's no question that when he joined Captain America: Winter Soldier as Falcon he achieved a new level of fame. Between his performances in the MCU and projects like The Hurt Locker and Twisted Metal, he's proven himself as a brilliant performer and a beloved celebrity. Of course, with that comes recognition, and he has a wild story about one fan exchange where he was trying to be a nice guy for a photo only to end up in oyster puke instead.

During THR’s Comedy Actor Roundtable, Anthony Mackie told a wild story to fellow A-listers Theo James, John Goodman, Bowen Yang, and more about the time he was in Vancouver shooting the crazy expensive Netflix show Altered Carbon. He hilariously explained that he was trying to be a nice guy for this customer he met at a restaurant who wanted nothing more than to take a picture with him, saying:

See this young lady across the bar. So, I tell the bartender, ‘Yo, tell her come over say hello.’ She makes her way around the bar and everybody in the restaurant's like ‘He's so nice.’ I went to this restaurant like every day ‘cause they had an oyster happy hour. She comes around the bar. She's like, ‘Can we take a picture?’ ‘Like look, I can't take a picture with you. Everybody in the restaurant's looking.’ She goes, ‘Oh no!’ She starts crying and everybody in the restaurant's like, ‘You're an asshole.’ And I was like, ‘Well, give me your phone. If you're discreet, I can hold the camera down and take a picture.’ She goes, ‘Oh my God!’ And everybody in the restaurant goes ‘Yay!’

That must have been embarrassing to be put on the spot like that. I can understand Anthony Mackie’s hesitation in taking the picture as he’s at a restaurant trying to enjoy a nice meal. Imagine if that inspired a long line of fans all wanting their picture with the Marvel actor next.

However, it’s sweet that Mackie decided to make a fan happy and give her a once-in-a-lifetime photo with him. After that, though, the 8 Mile actor's fan experience led to an unexpected and very gross twist:

So I take the picture and I tell her you have photo approval. If you don't like it, we can take another one. Everyone’s hearts melts. She looks at it. She goes, ‘Bleh!’ She pukes from here all the way down to my shoes. And this is after two dozen oysters, a lobster.

That’s such a nasty experience! Clearly, all of that seafood really got to her and unexpectedly ended up in the path of Anthony Mackie. If only he had Peter Parker’s Spidey sense to dodge that puke from hitting him.

Anthony Mackie may have had a gross experience getting puked on, but, he continued to talk about an unexpected hero who swooped in to save the day:

She runs out of the restaurant. The waiter comes and he's like, ‘Dude.’ He scoops me up. He takes a tablecloth, wraps me and takes me back to the oyster wash, hoses me down on the [shucking table]. They take my clothes. He goes across the street to like TJ Maxx and gets me like some sweatpants and like a graffiti T-shirt.

Now, that’s a waiter who goes above and beyond! It was really impressive how he cleaned off Anthony Mackie and went down the street to get him some clothes. It was smart thinking as I wouldn’t want to spend the rest of the day covered in someone else’s puke.

But, the story didn’t end there as a different lady spotted Mackie and asked for a picture! I guess the fun never ends when you’re an A-list celebrity. You can watch the funny story in its entirety below:

While I'm sure going through all of this was no fun for the actor, it makes for a great story.

Hopefully, something like this never happens to him again. However, I'm sure the attention won't die down considering the release of Captain America: Brave New World is coming. The upcoming Marvel movie will see Sam Wilson take on his new role as Captain America, and we can't wait to see the actor soaring on the big screen. However, hopefully going forward, his fan experiences will be puke-free.

Make sure to add Captain America: Brave New World to your watchlist as the 2025 movie release is coming to theaters on February 14th, 2025. In the meantime, you can go back and watch Mackie as Sam Wilson by watching the Marvel movies in order with a Disney+ subscription.

Carly Levy
Entertainment Writer

Just your average South Floridian cinephile who believes the pen is mightier than the sword.