For Anthony Mackie, being Captain America comes with plenty of perks — but it hasn’t improved his romantic life.
The actor tells PEOPLE that if anything, his superhero status headlining Captain America: Brave New World makes dating “obsolete,” adding “the idea of dating is really hard.”
“How do you trust someone? How do you put yourself in a position to be vulnerable? How do you know what someone really [wants] from you when all you want is to just be loved and appreciated? What does that look like?” he continues.
The 46-year-old father of four, who split from his ex-wife Sheletta Chapital in 2018, isn’t on Tinder or Raya, either. “I’m older and I don’t do the apps,” says Mackie.
Still, he has no complaints about his life, which he spends largely out of the spotlight in his native New Orleans when he’s not working.
There, crawfish season is a must — as is low key time spent with his four boys, who range in age from 8 to 15. Game nights are a favorite in the Mackie household, where they play Monopoly, Uno, as well as Throw Throw Burrito and Throw Throw Avocado.
“It literally becomes The Matrix when you get into this game,” he says of the latter two. “My 12-year-old has figured out a system and nobody can figure out his system, but he wins every single time. He just sits back. He’s the big cheese when it comes to Throw Throw Burrito and Throw Throw Avocado.”
In the Big Easy, Mackie still goes to the same restaurants that were around when his late parents, Martha and Willie, raised him and his five siblings.
Most folks leave him be, but occasionally he’s recognized by overzealous fans, which can sometimes seem overwhelming.
“I’m not a big attention person. I appreciate the support. I appreciate the idea of people recognizing me for my work, if nothing else,” he says. “But social anxiety is a real thing. And because of that, I run away and hide. I go to my places where I know people and they take care of me. And I just sit in the corner and put a umbrella over my head.”
Though Mackie has been working in Hollywood since starring in 2002’s 8 Mile with Eminem, his profile is only likely to rise even more with Captain America: Brave New World.
In the latest entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mackie assumes the role as the titular hero, taking over from Chris Evans, whose character Steve Rogers passed the shield to Mackie’s Sam Wilson at the end of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Captain America: Brave New World is in theaters on Friday, Feb. 14.
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