Singapore goes mad over Mackie

Ah, Anthony Mackie.

The crowd-pleaser, the sweetheart, the flirt, the life of the party.

Out of all the cast members who graced the Captain America: Civil War blue carpet event at Marina Bay Sands on Thursday evening, the 37-year-old US actor stole not only the show, but everyone's hearts too.

As Mackie - who plays Sam Wilson/Falcon in the movie - made his way down the blue carpet, he did not just stop to snap selfies, sign autographs and share a few hugs with and plant kisses on lucky fans.

At one point, he even ditched protocol by climbing over the barrier around the VIP section to mingle with fans, some of whom had been queueing since the wee hours of Thursday.

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Before going on stage to join emcees Glenn Ong and Stephanie Carrington, Mackie stopped to shake hands, high-five and take pictures with a group of young fans from the 26 beneficiaries of Marina Bay Sands' corporate social responsibility programme Sands for Singapore.

Then came this reporter's chance of a lifetime.

I waved my hand frantically and managed to catch Mackie's attention just before he went on stage. He grabbed my hand and said, "Hey baby!"

I asked if I could get a picture with him, to which he replied, "Sure thing, but you're gonna have to snap it baby."

When Civil War stars Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan, and co-director Joe Russo joined Mackie on stage, four youngsters were invited to post questions to the actors.

Nur Qumaira Adam, 15, who was from the Singapore Association for the Deaf, asked Evans through a sign language interpreter: "Do you love Singapore as much as Singapore loves you?"

Mackie then tapped Nur Qumaira on the shoulder and replied back in sign language with a hand gesture across his face. Nur Qumaira, the interpreter and Evans were surprised and impressed.

When Carrington asked Mackie what the gesture meant, he said, "She knows", implying it was a special message between him and his young fan. Later on, it was revealed that the actor had said: "You're beautiful" and "Thank you".

Mackie also charmed the media at the movie's press conference earlier that day.

When asked how Team Cap approached the international promotional tours for the movie, he said: "We try to get to know the culture we're in and eat the food, whereas Team Iron Man would go from the press conference to the spa, from the spa to their jet. It's about learning stuff about the people, stingray, chilli crab, stuff like that, learning 'yes, lah' or 'no, lah'."

Mackie continued on a charm offensive at the round table interview, where he playfully flirted with a female reporter seated next to him.

But too bad, ladies.

Mackie is happily married to Ms Sheletta Chapital, with whom he has three children, and he's known her since he was seven years old.

"We try to get to know the culture we're in and eat the food, whereas Team Iron Man would go from the press conference to the spa, from the spa to their jet. It's about learning stuff about the people, stingray, chilli crab, stuff like that, learning 'yes, lah' or 'no, lah' ."

- US actor Anthony Mackie can't resist taking a swipe at Team Iron Man