Anthony Mackie , who plays the superhero Falcon in the Captain America and Avengers films, talked about his hopes for the upcoming Disney+ show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and reflected on his journey through show business in a Variety interview published on Wednesday.

As every superhero fan must know, Falcon was offered Captain Americas iconic shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame with the hint that he would carry that shield into the near future. Mackie, 42, said that after a lengthy career in movies that had often seen him in supporting roles, he was surprised and affected by the opportunity.

Ive been in this business a long time, and I did it the way they said youre supposed to do it, Mackie told Variety. I didnt go to LA and say, Make me famous. I went to theater school, did Off Broadway, did indie movies and worked my way through the ranks. It took a long time for this shit to manifest itself the way it has, and Im extremely happy about that.

The actor mentioned his rap battle against Eminem in 2002s 8 Mile as the first monumental step of his career. As for Eminem, he won an Oscar for best original song.

Mackie said he carried the energy of that performance onward into 2006s Half Nelson , an independent film that won Ryan Gosling an Oscar nomination.

Then there was 2008s The Hurt Locker , where Mackie acted alongside Jeremy Renner, who also received an Oscar nomination and later became one of Mackies co-stars in the Avengers franchise.

It was the joke for a long time, said Mackie. If youre a white dude and you want to get nominated for an Oscar, play opposite me. I bring the business for white dudes. (The actor had previously stated that he took a year off from acting after The Hurt Locker, feeling like the Oscars had snubbed him.)