Anthony Mackie recalls the time Will Smith punched him in the face

The playful mishap took place at Smith's 50th birthday party in Budapest

Anthony Mackie has shared details of the time Will Smith accidentally landed a blow on the actor at a party in 2019.

Mackie, set to appear in Marvel‘s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, appeared on The Jess Cagle Show this week to promote his new Netflix film Outside the Wire when he told the story of the mishap at Smith’s 50th birthday party in Budapest.

According to Mackie, he had been asked to present Smith’s birthday cake prior to the incident. “I’m on stage with Will Smith doing a concert. I’m losing my mind. Right?” the actor explained. “So, the cake comes out, we bring the cake out, Will Smith sees me and he goes, ‘Hey, Anthony Mackie.’ I’m like, Will Smith knows my name.

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“So, I go to like high five. I don’t know what I was trying to do, but like, I was trying to hug him and he thought I was coming in for like a high five. So, he like tried to grab my arm and he punched me in the jaw so hard. Like he hit me with a right cross so hard.

“Then he grabbed me and he’s like, ‘you’re good?’ I was like, ‘I think so. I think we’re in a fight, are we in a fight?’ He’s like, ‘no, no, I’m sorry.'”

Will Smith Anthony Mackie
Will Smith at Variety’s Creative Impact Awards on January 3, 2016 in California. CREDIT: Jerod Harris/Getty Images

Responding to co-host Julia Cunningham’s shocked reaction, Mackie joked that Smith is “an angry human being”.

“He punched me in the jaw,” Mackie said, laughing. “Will Smith punched me the jaw. He’s an angry human being. I know he meant to do it, there is no way you mess up a hug with a punch in the jaw.”

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In a kinder gesture, last month (December 15) Smith teamed up with Jason Derulo to surprise 14-year-old Texas resident Aiden, who was diagnosed with cancer last April, with a brand new PlayStation 5.

Aiden’s father Chuck reached out to Smith on social media, who has been running a Snapchat original series called Will From Home, where the star gets in touch with fans and spotlights inspirational stories.

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