“HE’S A 6 FOOT 3 CLOWN WHO WORSHIPS SISQ Ó .”

doesn’t stop her from putting John in his place when she needs to. “It was easy to play off of her,” Mackie says of his chemistry with Beatriz. “We had a lot of fun, and I think that shows throughout the course of the series.”

As part of their stunt-driving training Mackie and Beatriz practiced drifting in a parking lot, leading to one of Mackie’s favorite memories from production. “We had this thing in the car called a funny stick, which you tap to make the car drift out,” he recalls. “Let’s just say Stephanie Beatriz is not the driver of drivers. [Laughs] If we had her learning to use the funny stick on film and we put it on TikTok, I think it would get 10 billion views.”

The stunt training was part of the crew’s overarching emphasis on capturing as much of the vehicular combat on camera as possible, as opposed to relying heavily on visual effects. The opening action sequence of the pilot is a blistering chase through a mall that sees John dodge rockets in front of a Sam Goody, read the mall directory while doing donuts, and swing by a Foot Locker to pick up a pair of pristine Jordan 1s. “In the middle of the apocalypse, I wouldn’t be looking for any other shoes but Jordans,” Mackie quips.

“We had amazing stunt drivers and a really great stunt crew,” he continues. “The show hinges on the cars and their abilities, so we put a lot of time and energy into the car combat, and I think it paid off. These sequences are second to none. Doing as many practical stunts as we could was an important part of the show.”

The series was shot in Mackie’s home city of New Orleans—a point of pride for the Captain America: Brave New World star, who had the time of his life working with loved ones in the place he loves most. “Being there and having my friends and cousins pull up on set… it was exciting and comforting,” he says. “It was just fun. From running away from alligators at Blue Bayou Water Park to the police chasing us out of Armstrong Park, everything about this production was a big laugh.”

Since becoming one of the industry’s biggest stars, Mackie has used his platform to help bring business and awareness to New Orleans. Last year, in the wake of Hurricane Ida, the actor helped to repair roofs in his neighborhood, the Seventh Ward. Currently, he’s developing a film studio in New Orleans East to help weave the film industry and all of the jobs it creates into the fabric of the city.

“There was a pride that I took in that my friends were able to eat off of Twisted Metal,” Mackie beams. “I want people to learn how hard people work in New Orleans. I appreciate the crew, and I wanted to give them a good performance. It reminded me of why I act and how great my job is. It was really an enjoyable experience to have a production this big in a city so small.”

All 10 episodes of Twisted Metal premiere exclusively on Peacock on July 27.