Anthony Mackie almost lost The Hurt Locker role

Anthony Mackie almost lost his role in The Hurt Locker because he was committed to another movie with "the worst director to ever direct".

The 46-year-old actor won critical acclaim playing a soldier in Kathryn Bigelow's 2008 war drama but he's revealed he was tied up on another project which ran over schedule and the part had to be given to someone else.

During an episode of Variety Variety‘s Know Their Lines series, he explained: "Hurt Locker is probably one of the most important acting experiences I had.

"We shot that in 2007, and I remember I was doing a movie in North Carolina with quite possibly the worst director to ever direct. Ironically, because of that the movie never came out.

"Because of that, the movie went over and I had to pull out of Hurt Locker. They offered it to somebody else ... "

However, Mackie got lucky as the other actor turned the role down because "it wasn’t enough money" and the part was given back to him and he was told filming could wait until he finished his other project.

He said: "They came back to me and said we'll wait, if you do it. But you've gotta be on a plane the day after you wrap."

The actor went on to have an amazing experience filming The Hurt Locker on location in Jordan. He said: "So I went from this sucky director who had no business in being in the business or in the director’s chair to Kathryn Bigelow.

"The moment I landed in Amman, Jordan, we hit the ground running [with] cultural research, military research, character studies – the real work a director does.

"It really was poignant to me the type of people I want to work with and the type of people who shouldn’t be working."

The Hurt Locker became a huge hit and went on to win six Academy Awards at the 2010 ceremony.

Mackie has since gone on to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe starting with 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and he'll be back in his superhero costume for upcoming blockbuster Avengers: Doomsday.

He recently revealed the cast are still “in the midst of it” and production is “going well”.

When Screen Rant asked the 8 Mile actor if Avengers: Doomsday was close to wrapping production, he said: “No. Hell no. No, we are in the midst of it.

"I mean, it's such a big, moving set piece, and it's such a big story. The best part of shooting a Marvel movie is that it's always an ever-evolving canvas.

"There are those staple pieces, and then there are the pieces that circulate throughout the course of the shoot. So, we're in the midst of it, but it's going well."