Anthony Mackie Responds to Sebastian Stan’s Dramatic Tommy Lee Transformation

Sebastian Stan has undergone a dramatic transformation to play rocker Tommy Lee opposite Lily James as Pamela Anderson in the upcoming Hulu series Pam & Tommy, and his The Falcon and the Winter Soldier costar Anthony Mackie Is weighing in. Mackie spoke with Variety at the 2021 MTV Movie and TV Awards, and he joked that he was “horrified” by Stan’s dark look. “He sent me a video on set and a few photos and I was blown away,” Mackie explained. “I was really surprised and impressed that he was able to do it. I was horrified. I was like, ‘What are you doing?! You’re playing Tommy Lee?’…It’s just humbling when you see your friend and he succeeds. And he crushed it.”

“Sebastian is a great actor…people being able to see him for the chameleon that he is, not just the beautifully amazing, blue-eyed god that he is — it’s very refreshing to see your friend win,” Mackie continued. Mackie, who has been tapped for Captain American 4, admitted that he hopes to be working with the MCU for many years to come.

“If I can be 65 and still doing this, I’m crushing it,” he said. Mackie admitted that when he first heard about doing The Falcon and the Winter Soldier with Stan, he was “very skeptical and very surprised” at the direction the series went. “I didn’t think we would be able to translate onto television what we do on film,” Mackie said. “I was blown away and surprised by how well they were able to keep the amazing scope of the film Marvel industry and take it onto Disney+.”

Stan opened up to Variety about having the first photo of him as Lee and James as Anderson go viral, revealing the shot was taken during their screen test. “I don’t remember who, I think it was probably [director Craig Gillespie], who said, ‘Hey, let’s go out in the sun and why don’t we do that?’ We were like, ‘Oh, that’s fun.’ And then we just did it.’” Stan’s relieved now that people have seen him in full Lee costume and make-up. “Honestly, it was freeing because I was walking around in these hoodies and hats, just paranoid of being seen,” he admitted. “I was like, ‘God, I hope they’re finally going to release something so you know what we look like, so we can go on with our lives.’”