| Mark Wahlberg | ||||||||||
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 Wahlberg at the Shooter premiere in London | ||||||||||
| Birth name | Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg | |||||||||
| Born | June 5 1971 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Other name(s) | Marky Mark Monk D | |||||||||
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Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5 1971) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and television producer. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier days and became famous in his 1991 debut as a rap musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
Contents |
Biography
Early life
Born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, he is the youngest of nine children,[1] with siblings Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie, and Donnie Wahlberg. His mother, Alma Elaine (née Donnelly), was a bank clerk and nurse's aid, and his father, Donald Edward Wahlberg, was a Teamster who worked as a delivery driver; the two divorced in 1982.[2][3][4] Wahlberg is of Swedish, Irish and French Canadian descent.[5][4] Wahlberg had a Catholic upbringing and attended Copley Square High School (but never graduated) on Newbury Street in Copley Square in Boston. The campus now houses Muriel Snowden International School.[6] As a young teenager, Wahlberg described himself as a troubled child who participated in several violent acts for which he was charged, later claiming to have been in trouble 20-25 times with the Boston Police Department as a youth. By the age of 13 Wahlberg had developed a serious addiction to cocaine and other substances.[7] At 15 he harassed a group of African American school children on a field trip by throwing rocks (causing injuries) and shouting epithets.[8] When he was sixteen (again using racist language) while attempting to rob a pharmacy under the influence of PCP, Wahlberg knocked a middle aged Vietnamese man unconscious with a wooden stick, left another Vietnamese man permanently blinded in one eye, and attacked a security guard.[9][10][4] Wahlberg has said that he has no recollection of the incident because he passed out just before the police caught him.[4] For these crimes, Wahlberg was charged for attempted murder, pled guilty to assault, and was sentenced to 2 years in jail at Boston's Deer Island House of Correction, of which he served 45 days.[9][11] In yet another incident when he was 21 Wahlberg fractured the jaw of a neighbor in an unprovoked attack.[12]
Music career
Wahlberg first came to fame as the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg of the successful 1980s 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 brother Donnie and later hit #1 on The Billboard Hot 100. Marky Mark opened for the New Kids on the Block during their last tour. The second Marky Mark LP, You Gotta Believe, was a relative failure. Wahlberg also collaborated musically with reggae / ragga singer Prince Ital Joe in a project featuring Marky Mark. The project combined rap and ragga vocals with strong eurodance music (as in the singles Happy People, United, Life in the Streets, and Babylon) courtesy of Frank Peterson and Alex Christensen as producers. 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. When Ranks made the statement that "gays ought to be crucified", Wahlberg remained in silence at his comments, which made the public believe he agreed with them. 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 in the preface that "I wanna dedicate this book to my dick".[4]
Advertising career
Wahlberg was known for his impressive physique.[4] He first displayed it in the Good Vibrations music video and most prominently in a series of underwear ads for Calvin Klein[13] shot by Herb Ritts following it with Calvin Klein television ads. In 1992 the Calvin Klein billboard in New York's Times Square featured Wahlberg exclusively.[4] Magazine and television promotions would sometimes feature Mark exclusively or accompanied by model Kate Moss.[14][15] Annie Leibovitz also shot a famous session of Mark Wahlberg in underwear for Vanity Fair's annual Hall of Fame issue.[16] During concert performances, he was known for stripping to his briefs and grabbing his crotch.[17] He also made a workout video entitled The Marky Mark Workout: Form... Focus... Fitness (ISBN 1-55510-910-1).
Film career
Wahlberg then began an acting career, making his debut in the 1993 TV movie The Substitute. His big screen debut came the next year, with the Danny DeVito feature Renaissance Man.[4] A basketball fanatic, he caught the attention of the film critics after appearing in The Basketball Diaries in 1995, playing the role of Mickey alongside leading actor Leonardo DiCaprio, in a film adaptation of the Jim Carroll book The Basketball Diaries. He has earned many positive reviews after appearing in a number of successful movies like Boogie Nights as Dirk Diggler, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, The Italian Job, and Four Brothers.[4] 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.[18] 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.[19] 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, and an NSFC Best Supporting Actor award.[20] 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 Staff Sergeant played by Wahlberg.[21][22] 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.[23] He has said in a number of interviews that he will retire at the age of 40 to concentrate on parenthood[24] and professional golf. However, in early 2007 he indicated that this was no longer the plan as "his golf game is horrible".[25] He is now to star as Jack Salmon in Peter Jackson's film of The Lovely Bones.[26] Of Wahlberg's most recent pre-production projects includes Lolita with co-star Eliska Sursova, which will detail the life of a wealthy business executive who finds himself attracted to the much younger daughter of a client while divorcing his wife, set to begin production in mid-2008. Though the film has not yet begun official production, there has been premature predictions of controversy regarding the film's storyline as well as the on-screen and off-screen age differences between Wahlberg, 36, and Sursova, 19, who will be 20 at the time of production.[27][28]
Personal life
Wahlberg is a practicing Catholic.[29][30][4] He dated actress Jordana Brewster and his co-star in the film The Big Hit, China Chow. Mark has two children with Rhea Durham — Ella Rae born September 2, 2003 and Michael born March 22, 2006. Wahlberg was a scheduled passenger on United Airlines flight 93 that was scheduled to fly from Boston to Los Angeles on September 11, 2001 but was hijacked and crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all on board. Wahlberg decided at the last minute to attend the Toronto International Film Festival, a decision which saved his life.[31][32] Wahlberg is actively involved in charity. He established the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation in May 2001 for the purpose of raising and distributing funds to youth service and enrichment programs.[33]
Discography
With the Funky Bunch
| Album Information |
|---|
Music for the People
|
You Gotta Believe
|
With Prince Ital Joe
| Album Information |
|---|
Life in the Streets
|
The Remix Album
|
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Renaissance Man | Pvt. Tommy Lee Haywood | |
| 1995 | The Basketball Diaries | Mickey | |
| 1996 | Fear | David McCall | |
| 1997 | Traveller | Pat O'Hara | |
| Boogie Nights | Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler | ||
| 1998 | The Big Hit | Melvin Smiley | |
| 1999 | The Corruptor | Danny Wallace | |
| Three Kings | SFC Troy Barlow | ||
| 2000 | The Yards | Leo Handler | |
| The Perfect Storm | Bobby Shatford | ||
| 2001 | Planet of the Apes | Capt. Leo Davidson | |
| Rock Star | Chris 'Izzy' Cole | ||
| 2002 | The Truth About Charlie | Joshua Peters | |
| 2003 | The Italian Job | Charlie Croker | |
| 2004 | I ♥ Huckabees | Tommy Corn | |
| 2005 | Four Brothers | Bobby Mercer | |
| 2006 | Invincible | Vince Papale | |
| The Departed | Sgt. Sean Dignam | oscar nominated | |
| 2007 | Shooter | Bob Lee Swagger | |
| We Own the Night | Capt. Joseph Grusinsky | ||
| 2008 | The Happening | Elliot Moore | post-production |
| Max Payne | Max Payne | ||
| The Lovely Bones | Jack Salmon | filming | |
| 2009 | The Fighter | Mickey Ward | pre-production |
| The Brazilian Job | Charlie Croker | announced |
References
- ^ cbs4denver.com/entertainment/entertainment_story_078124235.html.
- ^ movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800024619/bio.
- ^ www.filmreference.com/film/35/Mark-Wahlberg.html.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stated in interview at Inside the Actors Studio
- ^ www.wargs.com/other/wahlberg.html.
- ^ www.boston.k12.ma.us/schools/rc633/rc633sb.htm.
- ^ http://www.markwahlbergfan.com/article_vanityfair.htm
- ^ Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Michael Guilfoyle, Derek Furkart, and Mark Wahlberg. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ a b Criminal Complaint In the Suffolk County Superior Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1988. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ Commonwealth v. Mark R. Wahlberg. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2509542&page=1.
- ^ Crehan vs. Mark Wahlberg and Derek McCall. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ www.davidtoc.com/ck/ckmodel.cfm?Model_ID=14.
- ^ www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h0S80qdjOI.
- ^ www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1RlmYKJbWw.
- ^ www.jossip.com/category/annie-leibovitz/.
- ^ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ron0kFPbQdM.
- ^ www.filmfodder.com/archive/oceans11.
- ^ www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/02/28/brokeback_mountain_script_creeped_out_ma.
- ^ www.imdb.com/title/tt0407887/awards.
- ^ http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21263043.shtml Article about Wahlberg confirming The Departed 2 in the works. Accessed 2007-02-09.
- ^ http://movies.ign.com/articles/761/761346p1.html IGN.com article about Departed 2 problems. Accessed 2007-02-09.
- ^ Shooter interview.
- ^ Actor Mark Wahlberg says he plans to retire at age 40.
- ^ HBO interview.
- ^ Cardy, Tom. "Lovely Bones' Gosling in shock exit", Dominion Post, 23 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
- ^ Sursova and Wahlberg leave Durham uneasy Retrieved December 29 2007
- ^ http://www.modelsblog.info/index.php/2007/12/29/eliska-sursova-creates-waves-for-rhea-and-mark/ Sursova to play 'Lolita' to Mark Wahlberg] Retrieved December 29 2007
- ^ www.adherents.com/people/pw/Mark_Wahlberg.html.
- ^ www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21271373.shtml.
- ^ www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/09/11/a_friend_kept_mark_wahlberg_off_doomed_9.
- ^ www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/194160.
- ^ markwahlbergyouthfoundation.com.
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
- Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation
