Anthony Mackie is calling out Marvel for its lack of diversity

• Anthony Mackie says it bothers him that in seven movies he's done for Marvel, "every single person has been white" behind the camera.
• Mackie plays The Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• He opened up about Marvel's lack of diversity to Daveed Diggs, the star of TNT's "Snowpiercer," for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series.
• Mackie went on to say the only time there'd been a Black crew on a Marvel movie was for "Black Panther," which he said was "more racist than anything else" in that Black people were hired for the "Black movie."
• The actor, who is the star of the coming Disney Plus show "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," says his big push with Marvel going forward is to "hire the best person for the job."

In a conversation for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series with the "Snowpiercer" star Daveed Diggs, Anthony Mackie opened up about Marvel Studios and the need for more diversity.

The criticism came up after Diggs said he was trying to find ways to get diversity issues brought up on the shows he's working on in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Mackie, who plays The Falcon and is one of the few Black actors within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, responded with a startling comment about his career at Marvel.

"It really bothered me that I've done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white," Mackie told Diggs.

"We've had one Black producer; his name was Nate Moore," Mackie continued. "He produced 'Black Panther.' But then when you do 'Black Panther,' you have a Black director, Black producer, a Black costume designer, a Black stunt choreographer. And I'm like, that's more racist than anything else. Because if you only can hire the Black people for the Black movie, are you saying they're not good enough when you have a mostly white cast?"

Mackie will be the lead in the coming Disney Plus series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" and noted that in that position he could challenge Marvel more in its diversity issues.

"My big push with Marvel is hire the best person for the job," he said. "Even if it means we're going to get the best two women, we're going to get the best two men. Fine. I'm cool with those numbers for the next 10 years. Because it starts to build a new generation of people who can put something on their résumé to get them other jobs. If we've got to divvy out as a percentage, divvy it out. And that's something as leading men that we can go in and push for."

The lack of diversity within the MCU has been addressed by many over the years, but this is a rare instance in which someone within the MCU is calling it out.

While Marvel has not publicly commented (Insider reached out to Marvel representatives, but did not hear back), the MCU is becoming more diverse in front of the camera with coming titles like "Black Widow," "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," "The Eternals," and "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (Nate Moore is an executive producer on the latter two) — all of which showcase nonwhite or female leads. According to Mackie, this is a needed change behind the camera, too.

You can watch the full conversation between Mackie and Diggs over on Variety.