Anthony Mackie: The Average Person Eats Three Spiders A Year — Google It

by UInterviewJanuary 26, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

Anthony Mackie, 32, is used to risking life and limb for his job, and he isn’t afraid to let everyone know it. Though he isn’t the titular character in his new project, Man on a Ledge, director Asger Leth still required The Hurt Locker actor to experience the full terror of the height.

“We shot on the 22nd floor of the Roosevelt Hotel here in Manhattan,” Mackie exclusively told Uinterview. “And we were out on a ledge on the 22nd floor of this hotel. And I didn’t get that — I asked the director, ‘Dude, we could shoot this standing on a dresser and people would believe us. Why are we up on the 22nd floor?’ And he was like, ‘But I need it to be real for you.’ I didn’t get it,” Mackie admitted. “But seeing the movie, I think it paid off really well, it was a good choice.”

Lucky for Mackie, though, he doesn’t really have a fear of heights. Spiders, on the other hand, are another matter entirely. “I am bat sh** afraid of spiders,” he said. “When we were doing Hurt Locker, we were out in the Middle East. And I came across a camel spider …. A camel spider is the size of a small dog, and they are the most vicious spiders you’ve ever come across. I mean, they’re huge,” he said, wide-eyed. “After that I was like, ‘Okay, spiders must die.’ So every time I see a spider, I step on it. So my New Year’s resolution was not to kill a spider in 2012. But would you believe the average person eats three spiders a year? Google it!”

Man on a Ledge‘s all-star cast also includes Sam Worthington, Jamie Bell, Kyra Sedgwick, Edward Burns, Elizabeth Banks, and Ed Harris. You can catch it in theaters beginning January 27.

Watch Mackie’s Uinterview video here.