Anthony Mackie opened up his heart while accepting his golden popcorn trophy at Sunday’s MTV Movie & TV Awards.
The actor took home the award for Hero of the Year for his performance as Sam Wilson in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and he got a bit emotional while sharing his appreciation on stage at the Palladium in Los Angeles.
“Everything that happened in the past year and a half has been literally a… a very hard experience,” Mackie said, choosing his words delicately, and with a sadness in his voice. “But we’ve gotten through and we are stronger for it.”
“Thank you, MTV, for this. It means a lot,” he continued. “You guys will never know the amount of blood, sweat, and tears that went into this show. So, thank you.”
Later in the evening, Mackie took to the stage once again when he and his friend and co-star Sebastian Stan took home the Best Duo award for their roles in the hit Marvel series.
Mackie took to the stage solo and explained that Stan was unable to attend because he’s busy filming his Tommy Lee biopic.
“Sebastian couldn’t be here because he’s off being a rock star,” Mackie said, smiling. “It’s really amazing because he’s one of my dear friends, and the two of us really enjoyed doing this show.”
Before the show, ET’s Katie Krause caught up with Mackie on the red carpet and the actor expressed his excitement for the return of in-person awards shows and the very presence of red-carpet interviews.
“We’re still in masks. But it’s great,” he shared. “The whole idea of just being back into some semblance of reality is really great.”
The actor also addressed Stan playing the legendary rocker Tommy Lee in an upcoming bio-pic, and he addressed some shockingly spot-on first-look pics that came out last week.
