For all the hoopla over Chris Evans and his reluctant rise to superherodom, there’s Anthony Mackie, playing second fiddle when he should be the star. Mackie stars as Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and I hope this is just one role of many for him in lucrative franchises. Mackie was on Ellen yesterday, where he turned on the charm and told some highly entertaining stories. I was so impressed by his enthusiasm and how genuine he seemed, but of course I’ve loved him for years.

On Ellen, Mackie talked about how he found his home in New Orleans, an 1865 Victorian bed and breakfast which he broke into to see, and promptly fell through the floor. Mackie does his own refurbishing, and he also loves to use reclaimed garbage in his home. I would dumpster dive with him any day.

On how he found his home
I was hanging out with some friends and we drove past this house and it had been vacant for two years. One of my best friends from from middle school is a real estate agent now so we get in, doing our due diligence, and we go upstairs to the third floor and I’m like ‘this is amazing,’ and I fall from the third floor all the way to the basement. And I look up and I’m covered in termites, and I look at my friend on the third floor and I said ‘this is my house.’ And I’ve gutted it and made it into my house.

Ellen jokes that he sued them
Technically we broke in so I couldn’t sue, but they gave me a really good price.

On dumpster diving
If you haven’t dumpster dived, you haven’t lived… you drive by, you see a dumpster. Circle back, make sure nobody’s looking. Go home, chill out, nighttime comes, you go back to that dumpster just look around, see what you find. One man’s trash, another man’s renovation.

You can always make something out of trash. All of my floors, I got out of a dumpster. My entire bar, I built with wood that I got out of a dumpster from a broadway show. My bathtub in my little guest situation, I got it out of a dumpster. It’s a really nice tub. [shows pictures]

On how he got his tub out of the dumpster
I went to home depot, got some guys [uses air quotes], got my truck and was like ‘who want to make $50?’ Took em to the dumpster, there’s a latch on the dumpster where you can swing it open… put it on the trailer, you’ve got to move fast.

[From The Ellen show, aired April 2, 2014]

Later, Mackie joked that he was in the best shape of his life for the movie and that he tried to get producers to let him wear spandex, but that they shot him down.

“I was working out for five months to do this movie, and I looked in the mirror and I looked like I did when I was 18. I impressed myself. So I get on the phone with the Marvel exec and I was like ‘yo, I got it – spandex. In the comic book he wears spandex…’ No spandex, they said no, they shot it down.” After that Ellen gifted Mackie with a spandex onesie that said “watch Ellen” along with a pith helmet with a light on it for dumpster diving.

How awesome is Mackie? I’ve never been into dumpster diving and I’m not particularly crafty, but he’s inspiring me to thrift shop for some furniture at least. I’ll agree that he should wear spandex in the next movie and I’ll definitely get behind that cause. I’d like to advocate for him to have much more screen time. I just may see Captain America 2 after all.

Update: Here’s Mackie’s Ellen interview

Update 2: Thanks to Ellen’s staff for sending us these great pics of Mackie on the show!

Photo credit: WENN.com, Warner Bros/ Michael Rozman, and FameFlynet