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|othername=Marky Mark<br>Monk D
|othername=Marky Mark<br>Monk D
|homepage=
|homepage=
|notable role='''Eddie Adams/[[Dirk Diggler]]''' in ''[[Boogie Nights]]''<br>'''Troy Barlow''' in<br> ''[[Three Kings (film)|Three Kings]]''<br>'''Capt. Leo Davidson''' in<br>''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''<br>'''[[Charlie Croker]]''' in<br>''[[The Italian Job (2003 film)|The Italian Job]]''<br>'''Bobby Mercer''' in<br>''[[Four Brothers]]''<br>'''[[Vince Papale]]''' in <br>''[[Invincible (2006 film)|Invincible]]''<br>'''Sgt. Sean Dignam''' in<br>''[[The Departed]]''<br>'''[[Bob Lee Swagger]]'''<br> in ''[[Shooter (2007 film)|Shooter]]''
|notable role='''Eddie Adams/[[Dirk Diggler]]''' in ''[[Boogie Nights]]''<br>'''Troy Barlow''' in<br> ''[[Three Kings (film)|Three Kings]]''<br>'''Capt. Leo Davidson''' in<br>''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''<br>'''[[Charlie Croker]]''' in<br>''[[The Italian Job (2003 film)|The Italian Job]]''<br>'''Bobby Mercer''' in<br>''[[Four Brothers]]''<br>'''[[Vince Papale]]''' in <br>''[[Invincible (2006 film)|Invincible]]''<br>'''Sgt. Sean Dignam''' in<br>''[[The Departed]]''<br>'''[[Bob Lee Swagger]]''' in<br> ''[[Shooter (2007 film)|Shooter]]''
|academyawards=
|academyawards=
|emmyawards=
|emmyawards=

Revision as of 17:28, 5 July 2007

For the actor and television game show host, see Mark L. Walberg.
Mark Wahlberg
Wahlberg at the Shooter premiere in London
Born
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg
Other namesMarky Mark
Monk D
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)

Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5 1971) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, and television producer. Also known as Marky Mark in his earlier days, he had become famous in his debut as a rap musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He also enjoyed great fame as a sought-after advertising icon.

Biography

Early life

Born in Dorchester Boston, Massachusetts, he was 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 Copley Square in Boston (the campus now houses Muriel Snowden International School [1]).

As a teenager, Wahlberg participated in several acts of violence for which he was charged, later claiming to have been in trouble 20-25 times with the Boston Police Department as a youth.[4] At 15 he harassed a group of African American school children on a field trip by throwing rocks (causing injuries) epithets.[5] When he was 16, while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol (again using racist language) he knocked a middle aged Vietnamese man unconscious with a wooden stick and left another Vietnamese man permanently blind in one eye. In an interview for Inside the Actor's Studio, he admitted that he has no recollections of the incident, because he passed out just before the police caught him. For these crimes Wahlberg was charged for attempted murder, pled guilty to assault, and spent 4 years in jail at Boston's Deer Island House of Correction.[6][7] In yet another incident when he was 21 Wahlberg fractured the jaw of a neighbor in an unprovoked attack.[8]

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.

File:Skycover.jpg
SKY Magazine cover from November 1993 featuring Wahlberg in his Marky Mark persona.

Ironically, he had been chosen along with Donnie, Danny Wood, Jordan Knight, and Jonathan Knight as the original members of the group, but he chose to quit upon disliking the bubblegum pop squeaky-clean image they were to use. It was his departure, as well as Jamie Kelly's, that allowed Joe McIntyre to take his place as the fifth member of the group.

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.

Mark Wahlberg also colaborated 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", a shocked Wahlberg remained in silence at his comments, which made the public believe he was also prejudiced. 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".

Advertising career

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[9] shot by Herb Ritts following it with Calvin Klein television ads. In 1992 the Calvin Klein billboard in New York's Times Square featured Mark Wahlberg exclusively. Magazine and television promotions would sometimes feature Mark exclusively or accompanied by model Kate Moss.[10][11] Annie Leibovitz also shot a famous session of Mark Wahlberg in underwear for Vanity Fair (magazine) annual Hall of Fame issue.[12] During concert performances, he was known for stripping to his briefs and grabbing his crotch.[13] 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. A basketball fanatic, he caught the attention of the film critics after appearing in The Basketball Diaries in his first appearance on the big screen in 1995 playing the role of Mickey alongside leading actor Leonardo DiCaprio, in a movie adaptation of the famous 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, 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.[14] 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.[15] [16]

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.[17]

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.[18][19]

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.[20] He has said in a number of interviews that he will retire at the age of 40 to concentrate on parenthood and professional golf.[21] However, in early 2007 he indicated that this was no longer the plan as "[his] golf game is horrible".[22]

Personal life

Wahlberg is a practicing Catholic.[23][24]

The actor/rapper dated actress Jordana Brewster. In 1996, he also dated his Fear co-star Reese Witherspoon during and after the production of the movie.[25]He has dated his co-star in the film The Big Hit, China Chow.

Wahlberg settled down with his longtime girlfriend actress/model Rhea Durham and they have two children together. The couple’s first child, a daughter named Ella Rae, was born on September 2 2003. Their second child, Michael, joined the family on March 22 2006.

Wahlberg 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.[26][27]

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. [28]

Discography

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

In addition, two albums with Prince Ital Joe featuring Marky Mark

  • Life In The Streets (1994)
  • The Remix Album (1995)

Singles

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
The Departed 2006 Sgt. Sean Dignam
Shooter 2007 Bob Lee Swagger
We Own the Night 2007 Joseph Grusinsky
The Happening 2008 Eliott Moore
The Brazilian Job 2008 Charlie Croker

References

  1. ^ http://cbs4denver.com/entertainment/entertainment_story_078124235.html
  2. ^ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800024619/bio
  3. ^ http://www.wargs.com/other/wahlberg.html
  4. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070206/film_nm/oscars_luncheon_dc_1
  5. ^ http://thesmokinggun.com/archive/markymark1.html
  6. ^ http://www.modelminority.com/article225.html
  7. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2509542&page=1
  8. ^ http://thesmokinggun.com/archive/markymark9.html
  9. ^ http://www.davidtoc.com/ck/ckmodel.cfm?Model_ID=14
  10. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h0S80qdjOI
  11. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1RlmYKJbWw
  12. ^ http://www.jossip.com/category/annie-leibovitz/
  13. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ron0kFPbQdM
  14. ^ http://www.filmfodder.com/archive/oceans11
  15. ^ http://www.notstarring.com/actors/wahlberg-mark
  16. ^ http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/02/28/brokeback_mountain_script_creeped_out_ma
  17. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407887/awards
  18. ^ http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21263043.shtml Article about Wahlberg confirming The Departed 2 in the works Accessed 2007-02-09.
  19. ^ http://movies.ign.com/articles/761/761346p1.html IGN.com article about Departed 2 problems Accessed 2007-02-09.
  20. ^ Shooter interview
  21. ^ http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/actor-mark-wahlberg-says-he-plans-retire-at-age-40-1004076.php
  22. ^ HBO interview
  23. ^ http://www.adherents.com/people/pw/Mark_Wahlberg.html
  24. ^ http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21271373.shtml
  25. ^ http://www.whosdatedwho.com/celebrities/people/dating/mark-wahlberg.htm
  26. ^ http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/09/11/a_friend_kept_mark_wahlberg_off_doomed_9
  27. ^ http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/194160
  28. ^ http://markwahlbergyouthfoundation.com

External links

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