‘He got it! He got it!’
12-year-old Tennessee actor hits it big in MCU’S ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ on Disney Plus
As fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe experience the six-episode series “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Disney Plus, fans in Tennessee have an added reason to watch as 12-year-old Aaron Haynes is one of the series’ actors. h Haynes, who’s in sixth grade at Isaac Litton Elementary School in East Nashville, portrays A.J. Wilson, nephew of Sam Wilson, who’s also known as the Falcon when he puts on his flying gear to fight villains by himself or with the rest of the Avengers.
Haynes has been involved in modeling and acting for about four years, said his mother, Erica, who has family throughout the state as she grew up in Memphis and has relatives in Jackson.
“Before this, probably the biggest project he’s been a part of is the ‘Corporation’ video with Jack White,” Erica said. “This was an opportunity I wasn’t sure would happen when it was first pitched to him.”
Getting into the Marvel Cinematic Universe
There’s an online audition database available for aspiring actors and their agents to have access to upcoming opportunities.
“His agent sent us one that said ‘Marvel’ on it, and I laughed initially because I thought there’s very little chance of Aaron getting this,” Erica said. “I told him we’d send his information in but not to get his hopes up.”
Erica said Marvel Studios does a good job keeping their scripts and plot plans from being leaked publicly before they’re ready, and one of the ways they do that is in audition ambiguity.
“We didn’t know the name of the show, and the character names in the script were completely different from what they were when he eventually got on set,” Erica said. “They keep everything locked down.”
It was a week or two later when Erica got a call at home from Aaron’s agent.
“I’d just happened to leave work early that day and was at home when I normally wouldn’t be when she called me and was screaming into the phone, ‘He got it! He got it!” Erica said. “I had to ask her what he got, and she told me about the part and I joined in the screaming.”
Aaron said he was emotional too when he heard he’d gotten it but not as emotional as his mother.
“When she told me, I started crying,” Aaron said. “But it was tears of joy, not tears of sadness.”
Getting on set
It was in October 2019 when filming began, and Aaron’s first day on set was filming scenes from the first episode on a fishing boat.
“That was actually on Halloween his first day, and Aaron was frustrated he didn’t get to go trick-or-treating,” Erica said. “But I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, my baby is working with Anthony Mackie right now!”
Aaron said he didn’t recognize Mackie – the actor who portrays Sam Wilson/ Falcon – at first when he came on set, but that’s apparently normal for Aaron.
“When he was on set for Jack White’s video, we were waiting around for the shooting to start and Aaron asked a guy next to him where Jack White was,” Erica said while recalling a funny memory. “The gentlemen responded with something like, ‘Yeah I don’t know. What’s his deal?’
“And then Aaron found out when shooting started that he’d been talking to Jack White.”
Aaron said Mackie looked different in person, and he also didn’t have his wings and armor on to fly around like he typically does in MCU movies.
Experiencing the premiere
The opening episode streamed on
Disney Plus on March 19.
It’s the second streaming series from the MCU, as Wandavision made its debut earlier this year with both shows showing progression in the overall MCU storyline.
That storyline already included nearly two dozen movies released from 2008 through 2019 and will continue in other upcoming shows and movies as the saga transitions to Phase 4 after the events of 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
“Falcon and the Winter Soldier” will follow the two title characters as they navigate through life without their mutual good friend, Steve Rogers, who passed on the mantle of superhero Captain America to Sam Wilson, who has issues to deal with at home early in the show.
That’s when Aaron is seen on screen for the first time as Sam’s nephew, A.J.
Erica rented a theater in Nashville to have Aaron’s friends over for a watch party on that Saturday afternoon.
“Aaron is the most nonchalant child you’ll ever meet in your life, so (the weekend of the opening) was interesting for him,” Erica said.
Aaron’s friends – most of whom are from his acting and dance classes – all took a knee and sarcastically bowed to him when he entered the room before the showing.
Before Aaron appeared on screen in the episode, Sam Wilson’s nephews were referenced in a scene with him and another Avenger, James “Rhodey” Rhodes (aka War Machine), who’s portrayed by Don Cheadle. Erica said she’s a big fan of him.
“A friend of mine texted me Sunday and said, ‘Do you realize Don Cheadle is referring to your baby when they’re talking?’
” Erica said. “And it took me a minute and then I thought, ‘Don Cheadle is talking about my baby!’ ”
Possible MCU future for Aaron?
It’s not clear yet how many episodes Aaron will appear in. There is a history for A.J. Wilson in the Marvel Comics where Aaron could reprise the role in a later movie or series depending on where storylines go over the rest of the six-episode series.
“Right now we’re enjoying the experience because it has been fun and exciting,” Erica said. “We’ll see where it goes and what happens after this, but the first episode was really good, and I’m ready to see where they go with it.”
Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com or at 731425-9751