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Twisted Metal Star Anthony Mackie Says Samoa Joe Threw Him Around "Like a Bag of Potatoes"
Twisted Metal hits Peacock with the force of a speeding ice cream truck Thursday, July 27.
Anyone who has ever played Twisted Metal associates the the franchise with two things above all else: unbridled vehicular mayhem and an ice cream truck-driving psychopath in a clown mask by the name of Sweet Tooth.
Both items had to remain wholly intact when Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese — writers of Zombieland and Deadpool — decided to adapt the beloved video game series for the small screen. Sweet Tooth is so inextricably linked with the property, that the character (voiced by Will Arnett) took center stage alongside Anthony Mackie's John Doe in the first sneak peek clip released by Peacock late last week.
RELATED: Anthony Mackie meets Sweet Tooth in first look clip at Twisted Metal
The hulking clown known for driving a conveyance of frozen confections was played on-set by professional wrestler Samoa Joe, whose intimidating size purportedly belies a warm and cuddly nature.
"I’ve been a fan of Samoa Joe’s for a while now, just for wrestling, and he’s just a nice guy," Mackie noted during an interview with Rolling Stone. "He’s one of those guys that’s so huge that he just has to be nice, because nobody’s trying to try him. [He’d] break you in half. He doesn’t have any natural predators! So, he’s just a nice guy."
The actor went on to praise Joe's physical performance, comparing it to how another wrestler-turned-actor (and fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe star), Dave Bautista, transcended his WWE persona with Guardians of the Galaxy.
"Once you take somebody’s identity away, all of a sudden, it frees them up to be whoever that character is," Mackie explained. "And Samoa, he embraced that 100% and made Sweet Tooth, I think, a crowd favorite from this show."
RELATED: Twisted Metal’s Anthony Mackie Signed On to Peacock Series Because He Was a Fan of Cobra Kai
The aforementioned clip takes place in an abandoned Las Vegas casino, where an irate Sweet Tooth puts the hurt on Doe while Sisqó’s "Thong Song" plays over the speakers. The classic track (the show is apparently chock full of '90s needle drops) ultimately helps the duo find common ground, but not before Doe has his face smashed into a slot machine. That's gotta hurt...and it actually did.
"As much as he was acting, I don’t know if he was just beating me up because I’m in The Avengers," Mackie said of the fight scene. "I don’t know what it was, but he was pulling no punches, flinging me around like a bag of potatoes. It was fun, though! I can say I got beat up by Samoa Joe and I lived to tell about it."
And Samoa Joe can now say he beat up Captain America. It's a win-win for everyone!
Twisted Metal hits Peacock with the force of a speeding ice cream truck Thursday, July 27.
Want more original Peacock content in the meantime? Be sure to check out Bel-Air, Killing It, A Friend of the Family, Poker Face, Joe vs. Carole, Mrs. Davis, MacGruber, and Based on a True Story.
