by Paul Fischer
CrankyCritic®
StarTalk The Big Hit courtesy TriStar |
Mark WahlbergWhen brother Donnie hit big as a singer with New Kids on the Block, street punk Mark, who rolled drunks for change, found new salvation as white boy rapper Marky Mark. He also raised more than eyebrows with his ads for Calvin Klein underwear. As an actor, Wahlberg caught the critic's eyes with a little seen performance opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Basketball Diaries. Two years later his literally knock your socks off work in Fear and Boogie Nights got the press to acknowledge that Wahlberg's talent was more than the size of the prosthetic enlargement in the pants of porn star Dirk Diggler.
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We spoke with Wahlberg just before the release of The Big Hit, and Wahlberg's outrageous deadpan performance as a "nice guy" who just happens to be a professional hit man, held neatly under the thumb of manipulative cohorts, girlfriends and lovers. Bullets and jokes fly with equal ferocity, and the pumped up star took his lumps by doing his own stunts, choreographed by Hong Kong action legend Benny the Jet . . .
CrankyCritic: How long did you work
with Benny the Jet to get some of those moves? Had you known about any
of his classic Hong Kong flicks?
Mark Wahlberg: I saw Benny in Grosse Pointe Blank. He got
beat up by John Cusack. I said "uh oh." He beat me up for about
four weeks.
CrankyCritic: How has your life changed
since Boogie Nights?
Wahlberg: [laughing] Personally? I get bothered when people ask
me if I have a big penis.
CrankyCritic: So we shouldn't ask
if you've got the prosthetic mounted as a statue sitting on your fireplace?
Wahlberg: I don't know what happened to that thing. I think Burt
[Reynolds] is wearing it. He wore it to the Oscars. I think that's why
they didn't give it to him. For his acceptance speech he was gonna just
whip it out.
CrankyCritic: So, besides the stupid
questions?
Wahlberg: Things are good. I've definitely accomplished everything
I had hoped for when I did the film which was, basically, showing filmmakers
what I was capable of doing and what I was willing to do as an actor.
CrankyCritic: Do you think you don't
get credit for some of the things you're doing because of your background
as a singer?
Wahlberg: I don't know. People who look at it for what you're supposed
to, for the work, definitely do. There are some people out there who have
hang ups about it.
CrankyCritic: Has "Marky Mark"
retired for good?
Wahlberg: As far as I'm concerned, yes. I'd love to make music
but as far as going out and pulling down my pants and running around in
my underwear, I don't think I could do that. [Maybe] for a 20 year anniversary
I'll come out with my beer belly and pull down my pants.
CrankyCritic: You had no qualms about
contributing songs to the soundtrack of The Big Hit?
Wahlberg: Yeah, I love making music. I mean, my record company
really didn't even call me and then Boogie Nights came out and they called
me every day saying "we gotta make a record". That's not my
thing. I'm not using one career to help the other. They need to be able
to stand up on their own. I love making music and I want to continue making
music but I can't continue under those rules.
CrankyCritic: We've always read about
the rush that performers get on stage. Is that something you miss?
Wahlberg: Well I always want to do it. I remember the last tour,
a European tour three years ago, a friend of mine had produced this album
that was successful in Europe and I wanted to be back making a movie but
I was on the road. But once I was making the movie I wanted to be back
on the road. It's just how I am. I'm a born complainer.
CrankyCritic: Now that he's taken
over the billboards, did you give Antonio Sabado any advice?
Wahlberg: I told him to get out while you can. I didn't want to
talk about it all that much 'cuz I was never really cool about it. I didn't
want to give him a hard time.
CrankyCritic: You don't like to talk
about the Calvin Klein experience . . .
Wahlberg: To me it was something that I didn't expect. It helped
and it hurt. It definitely introduced me to a whole different audience
of people. I started from square one as far as explaining who I was and
what I was about. But my whole deal was my voice and, once I did the ads,
that was taken away.
CrankyCritic: Your last two flicks
have been fairly small ventures. What made you want to do a big slam bang
action flick like The Big Hit?
Wahlberg: Well the funny thing about it is that this one cost about
half of what it cost to make Boogie Nights. That's is a huge surprise
to most people 'cuz it looks so big, like a real expensive film. [Director]
Che-Kirk Wong did an amazing job. All credit to him. I had finished
Boogie Nights and I needed to do something that was a total 180
from that. When I read the script, the comedy aspect really got me. When
I saw Kirk's movie with Jackie Chan, I saw it was more about the
acting than the action. That was impressive to me
CrankyCritic: When you saw The
Big Hit on screen for the first time, was it as funny as it read?
Wahlberg: I was happy. Literally, it was the first time I've had
a smile on my face from beginning to end, from ear to ear. I didn't expect
that. I thought it was fun [to do] and it was important to me to go in
a different direction for character. Four or five years down the line
if I continue to do the serious dramas like I'm going to then maybe they
wouldn't be so quick to give me an opportunity like this. To do something
light and fun.
CrankyCritic: You've been successful
as a musician and a model and a film actor. Are those all the means to
some end...
Wahlberg: I want to play pro golf. That's what I really want to
do.
CrankyCritic: What's your handicap?
Wahlberg: Depends if I'm playing for money I'm about a 22. And
if I hit 75 it's an accident. So probably about a 12, 13.
CrankyCritic: How do you convince
the directors and casting agents that the streetwise persona is not all
you can play? Do you still audition?
Wahlberg: On the good parts, if you want to prove that you're the
best guy, then you read. I have no problem with that. I put myself on
tape for "Out on My Feet," the boxing movie, with DeNiro. I
had to come in and read for them. They were familiar with my work, so
I just had to put myself on tape. But I had to play 15 to 45 so I had
to do a makeup test as well.
CrankyCritic: It must be intimidating
doing a boxing movie with Robert DeNiro.
Wahlberg: No, cuz I'm the fighter. He's the trainer. I get to beat
up on the guy who beat up everybody. It's great. He's playing Angelo
Dundee, who trained Ali and everybody.
CrankyCritic: A couple of years ago
you did The Basketball Diaries, and it was Leo DiCaprio who
exploded overnight...
Wahlberg: More power to him.
CrankyCritic: Do you talk to Leo?
Wahlberg: I just talked to him recently. It's difficult [for him].
I was in a similar position, once, and my brother Donnie was in a similar
position, with New Kids on the Block. You see how quick people
grow out of that. He's smart enough and he's talented enough that if he
just stays focused on his work, which he planned on doing, he'll be OK.
Y'know, all girls grow up and somebody new comes along. You're cool and
then if you still have a poster of Leonardo on the wall when you're 15,
you're not cool. So then you're into Marilyn Manson. It's just
how it works.
CrankyCritic: Are you willing to take
the long road, whatever it takes?
Wahlberg: I think it's crucial to me to stay on the path I'm on.
You can only do one movie at a time. You never know how it's going to
turn out, whether it makes a billion dollars or less than a million dollars.
I make my decisions based on the material, and the people that I'm working
with.
More StarTalk with the stars of The Big Hit:
Christina Applegate Antonio Sabado Jr. Lou Diamond Phillips The Big Hit website