|
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971) is an Academy Award-nominated
American actor, television producer and former rapper. He has also spent time
working as a male fashion model.
 Early
life
Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, he was the youngest 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. His paternal grandfather
was of Swedish descent, while the majority of his other ancestry is Irish. Wahlberg
had a Catholic upbringing and attended Copley Square High School (but never
graduated) on Newbury Street in Boston.
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. At 15 he harassed a group of African American school
children on a field trip by throwing rocks (causing injuries) and shouting racist
epithets. 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
45 days in jail at Boston's Deer Island House of Correction. In yet another
incident when he was 21 Wahlberg fractured the jaw of a neighbor in an unprovoked
attack.
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.
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 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. 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".
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: Form... Focus... Fitness (ISBN 1-55510-910-1).
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.
Film
career
Wahlberg 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 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. 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.
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.
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.
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. He has said in a number of interviews that he will
retire at the age of 40 to concentrate on parenthood and professional golf.
However, in early 2007 he indicated that this was no longer the plan as " golf game
is horrible".
Personal
life
Wahlberg and longtime girlfriend actress/model Rhea Durham
have two children together. 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.
The actor/rapper previously dated actress Jordana Brewster.
Wahlberg is a practicing Catholic.
In 1996, Mark Wahlberg dated his Fear co-star Reese Witherspoon during and after
the production of the movie. He has dated his co-star in the film The Big Hit,
China Chow.
He is also rumored to have had an affair with Madonna in the early 1990s.
Source : Some of the information on this page came
from a Wikipedia article and is licensed under the GNU Documentation
License. ©2008 www.geneticmatrix.com.
|
.png "USA")
Mark
Wahlberg - Generator - Biography
