Mark Wahlberg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mark Wahlberg
Birth name	Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg
Born	June 5, 1971 (age 35) Dorchester, Massachusetts, USA
Other name(s)	Marky Mark Monk D
Notable roles	Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights Capt. Leo Davidson in Planet of the Apes Charlie Croker in The Italian Job Bobby Mercer in Four Brothers Vince Papale in Invincible Sgt. Sean Dignam in The Departed Bob Lee Swagger in Shooter

Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and television producer, formerly known as rapper Marky Mark. He has also spent time working as a male fashion model.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Personal life 2 Trivia 3 Discography 3.1 Singles 4 Selected filmography 5 Footnotes 6 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

He was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, the youngest^[1] of nine children, with siblings Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie, and Donnie Wahlberg. His father, Donald Edward Wahlberg, was a delivery driver, and his mother, Alma Elaine Donnelly, was a nurse; the two divorced in 1982.^[2] His paternal grandfather was of Swedish descent, while the majority of his other ancestry is Irish.^[3] Wahlberg had a Catholic upbringing and attended Copley Square High School (but never graduated) on Newbury Street in Boston.

As a teenager and young man, Wahlberg participated in several acts of violence^[4][5][6][7] for which he was arrested, later claiming to have been arrested 20-25 times by the Boston Police Department as a youth.^[8]

[edit] Career

Wahlberg first came to fame as the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg of the successful boy band New Kids on the Block.

Wahlberg began recording as Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, earning a hit with "Good Vibrations" from the album Music for the People. The record was produced by Donnie and hit #1 on The Billboard Hot 100. Marky Mark opened for the New Kids during their last tour. The second Marky Mark LP, You Gotta Believe, was a relative failure. He briefly became embroiled in controversy when he appeared to endorse the homophobic comments made by Shabba Ranks when they appeared as guests on the British chat show The Word. He later publicly dissociated himself from Ranks' comments, but only after widespread media coverage. In the dedication of his 1992 book "Marky Mark", co-authored with photographer Lynn Goldsmith, Wahlberg says "I wanna dedicate this book to my dick".

Wahlberg was also known for his impressive physique. He first displayed it in the Good Vibrations music video and most prominently in a series of underwear ads for Calvin Klein shot by Herb Ritts. During concert performances, he was known for stripping to his briefs and grabbing his crotch. He also made a workout video entitled The Marky Mark Workout: Fitness, Form, Focus. Afterwards he had a few hits in the European dance scene with Prince Ital Joe, which abruptly ended when the latter died in a car accident. He then began an acting career, making his debut in the 1993 TV movie The Substitute. He has earned positive reviews and appeared in a number of successful movies like Boogie Nights, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, Four Brothers, and The Italian Job. His performance in I ♥ Huckabees was voted best supporting performance of the year in the 2004 Village Voice Critics Poll. Wahlberg was originally cast as Linus Caldwell in Ocean's Eleven; Matt Damon played the role instead. The two later worked together in The Departed.^[9] Wahlberg was also originally considered for a role in the film Brokeback Mountain. The movie was originally intended to star him and Joaquin Phoenix, but Wahlberg was uncomfortable with the film's sex scenes and his role ultimately went to Jake Gyllenhaal.^[10]

Wahlberg recently starred in the football drama, Invincible, based on the true story of Vince Papale. He is also the executive producer of the HBO series Entourage which is loosely based on his experiences in Hollywood. He also appeared as a Massachusetts State Police detective in Martin Scorsese's critically acclaimed thriller, The Departed in 2006, which netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, an NSFC Best Supporting Actor award, to mention a few.^[11]

Wahlberg has confirmed that he was approached to star in a sequel to The Departed, but it's still early in development. The sequel would reportedly revolve around the detective played by Wahlberg.^[12][13]

To prepare for his role in Shooter, Wahlberg attended long-range shooting training at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute near Pahrump, Nevada, and was able to hit a target at 2000 yards.^[14] He has said in a number of interviews that he will retire at the age of 40 to concentrate on parenthood and professional golf.^[15] However, in early 2007 he indicated that this was no longer the plan as "[his] golf game is horrible".^[16]

[edit] Personal life

Wahlberg is currently dating model/actress Rhea Durham. The couple’s first child, a daughter named Ella Rae, was born on September 2, 2003. Their son, Michael, joined the family on March 22, 2006.^[17]

The actor/rapper previously dated actress Jordana Brewster.

Wahlberg is a practicing Catholic.^[18][19]

[edit] Trivia

• Mark was a scheduled passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, but decided at the last minute to head up to the Toronto International Film Festival instead.^[20][21]
• He stands 5 foot 7 inches tall.^{[citation needed]}
• He has a third nipple, which was airbrushed out of Calvin Klein underwear ads.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Discography

• Music for the People (1991)
• You Gotta Believe (1992)

[edit] Singles

• Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch - Wild Side (1991)
• Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch - Good Vibration (1991)
• Marky Mark - No Mercy (1995)
• Marky Mark - Hey Dj (1996)
• Marky Mark - Feel The Vibe (1997)

[edit] Selected filmography

Film	Year	Role
Renaissance Man	1994	Pvt. Tommy Lee Haywood
The Basketball Diaries	1995	Mickey
Fear	1996	David McCall
Traveller	1997	Pat O'Hara
Boogie Nights	1997	Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler
The Big Hit	1998	Melvin Smiley
The Corruptor	1999	Danny Wallace
Three Kings	1999	SFC Troy Barlow
The Yards	2000	Leo Handler
The Perfect Storm	2000	Bobby Shatford
Planet of the Apes	2001	Capt. Leo Davidson
Rock Star	2001	Chris 'Izzy' Cole
The Truth About Charlie	2002	Joshua Peters
The Italian Job	2003	Charlie Croker
I ♥ Huckabees	2004	Tommy Corn
Four Brothers	2005	Bobby Mercer
Invincible	2006	Vince Papale
Life of Marlon O'Reilly	2006	Himself
The Departed	2006	Sgt. Dignam
Shooter	2007	Bob Lee Swagger
The Happening	2008	Eliott Moore
The Fighter	2009	Micky Ward

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Mark Wahlberg at the Internet Movie Database
• Mark Wahlberg Interview at Moviehole.net
• Mark Wahlberg Interview on "Fresh Air"
• Mark Wahlberg on The Hour