Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Marvel Studios, Movies, TV | Tagged: captain america, captain america: brave new world, the falcon and the winter soldier

Captain America: Lumbly on Bond with Mackie Reflecting in Isaiah/Sam

Carl Lumbly (Captain America: Brave New World) on Anthony Mackie, the Isaiah/Sam bond since The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and more.

Of what little do we know about Captain America: Brave New World from previews, Carl Lumbly's journey as the formerly imprisoned super soldier Isaiah Bradley has taken a darker path. Everyone is on high alert, especially President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (Harrison Ford) as the new Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), formerly the Falcon, is trying to get to the bottom. Bleeding Cool spoke with Lumbly to break down the kind of bond Isaiah had with Sam, why they connected so well during the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Disney+ series that precedes the Julius Onah film, how previously working with Mackie on previous projects added nuance to his performance, and if we'll see more of Isaiah's story unfold in a future project.

Captain America: Brave New World Star Carl Lumbly on How Isaiah and Sam's Bond is Based on Empathy and Making Sense of Isaiah's Tragedy

Bleeding Cool: One of the warming things about 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier' is seeing the bond between Isaiah and Sam. Obviously, with spoilers in mind, did that change at all by the time we get to [Captain America: Brave New World] as far as where their relationship is at this point? Also, what was it like working with Anthony to develop this relationship, and is there anything you guys bond over as actors?

Answering your last question first, from the beginning, this is not the first time I've worked with Anthony. From the first time I worked with him, as an actor, you get a sense of who's doing work you appreciate, who's doing work that perhaps, they're making different choices, but it's operating in the same zone. Anthony works at the top of his intelligence, and he's intuitive.

He's skilled enough to be simple, and that's in part a gift, and that's part of the work. He takes his job seriously, and I have always bonded with him on that level. To say any more about the relationship between Sam and [Isaiah], I'm not able to speak specifically to your question about if it's changed. The level at which they encounter one another generation to another to like-minded individuals in terms of how they believe a man should wear his principles.

Someone like Sam, who is at his base, a social worker looking for connection, can find connection and sense. It's a genuine effort since, even in their initial meetings, he was probing. You wanted to find things out, but he was also captured by what happened to another human soul in struggle, and that struggle bore certain similarities with his own. The desire to help and be of service bonded these two individuals. While Isaiah has plenty of reasons not to want to be of service or trust, having dedicated his life and later betrayed by the very entity he swore not only fealty to but was fighting for.

That fight was not just for him but for those who looked like him, who had been denied the opportunity to freely love on any level with country, love for one another, and different people. That was something both could understand and wanted to do something about because of his experience. He looks at Sam, and he sees himself at a younger age, almost at the same point, and because of what happened to him, he's trying to warn them that this doesn't always end well.

Opening your heart completely means your heart can be completely taken. Opening your mind can be completely washed, and for whatever reason, he feels he's been able to hang on, maybe some of it, and the effects of the serum. He feels like he made it. He survived, and now he would like to be left alone in what's left of his world, but Sam insists on bringing him into a new world in which he must be brave. He thinks he knows what bravery is. Looking at Sam, [Isaiah's] getting more information about bravery, and because there's also this game of time. The Marvel Universe places it so spectacularly. He gets to live in the past, present, and future at the same time.

Marvel places so much emphasis on exposition in their cinematic universe. Do you feel like we'll see more of your Isaiah Bradley beyond 'Captain America: Brave New World?' We've seen the exhibit in 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier' at the end of the season about Isaiah's story. Do you think Marvel expands to tell audiences Isaiah's adventures in animate form, given your experience in the voiceover world with projects like "What If…?"

Tom, I'm an actor. I want my character's story to be told, and I have no idea what would happen, but I will say this – playing this character has been a real joy for me and some revelation. There are some roles you play that teach you something more about yourself because of the challenge in doing them. I'd say "a character is a character," like somebody alive for a full cycle seeking to celebrate those who have managed to make it past 100 years old. There is a wisdom that comes simply from being able to hang on that long, from being able to remember what things were like and to be able to envision what things could be like. There aren't many on the planet who get that opportunity to live that long, and Isaiah is one of them. I don't know if that's the answer you're looking for, but I hope so.

Captain America: Brave New World, which also stars Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Blake Nelson, and Liv Tyler comes to theaters on February 14th. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which also stars Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Ramirez, Georges St-Pierre, Adepero Oduye, Don Cheadle, Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, Florence Kasumba, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is available on Disney+. You can also check out our previous interviews with Lumbly.

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