- Tom O'Brien, Misty Holland, Chris Beachum
- Film
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Mark Wahlberg is a Dorchester, Massachusetts native who has brought to life, in the past two decades, a wide variety of characters that have gone far beyond fighting CG robots in the “Transformers” movies.
Wahlberg got his start as a rapper, as the frontman for the group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, but it was his good looks rather than musical ability that brought him notoriety as the premier Calvin Klein underwear model in the 1990s. From there it was a quick jump to movies, with the young actor getting his big break as the lead in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s “Boogie Nights” in 1997.
Since then Wahlberg has been working steadily with such A-list directors as Martin Scorsese (“The Departed,” which earned him an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor), Peter Jackson (“The Lovely Bones”), Tim Burton (“Planet of the Apes”), Ridley Scott (“All the Money in the World”) and David O. Russell (“Three Kings,” “I ♥ Huckabees ” and “The Fighter,” for which Wahlberg received a second Oscar nomination for producing the Best Picture nominee).
Take a tour in our photo gallery of Wahlberg’s 12 greatest film performances, ranked from worst to best.
12. PLANET OF THE APES (2001)
Director: Tim Burton. Writers: William Broyles Jr., Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan.
In the first major reboot of the “Apes” franchise, Wahlberg stars as U.S. Air Force Capt. Leo Davidson, who finds himself trapped in a world populated by apes who speak as if they were human beings. Burton’s film closely mirrors the plot of the 1968 original starring Charlton Heston, although reportedly Wahlberg declined to wear a loincloth in his scenes with the apes as Heston did because he felt the loincloth would too closely evoke memories of his days as an underwear model.
11. I ♥ HUCKABEES (2004)
Director: David O. Russell. Writers: David O. Russell, Jeff Baena. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg.
In David O. Russell’s self-described “existential comedy,” Wahlberg portrays anti-petroleum firefighter Tommy Corn, who aids two “existential detectives” (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) in helping their client (Jason Schwartzman) find the meaning of life. “Huckbees” marked Wahlberg’s second collaboration with David O. Russell, with whom he worked on “Three Kings” and is one of Wahlberg’s first forays blending into an all-star cast ensemble, standing out as a quirky addition to Wahlberg’s growing resume.
10. THE ITALIAN JOB (2003)
Director: F. Gary Gray. Writers: Donna Powers, Wayne Powers.. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Jason Statham.
In this remake of the 1969 British caper film that starred Michael Caine, Noël Coward and Benny Hill (!!!!), this F. Gary Gray-directed version stars Wahlberg as a professional safecracker who teams up with a group of thieves to steal $35 million in gold bullion as part of a plot to avenge the death of his safecracking mentor. The successs of “The Italian Job” continued Wahlberg’s growing box-office clout, grossing over $100 million in the U.S. alone.
9. LONE SURVIVOR (2013)
Writer/Director: Peter Berg. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster.
The first of three collaborations with writer/director (and former actor) Peter Berg [the other two being “Deepwater Horizon” (2016) and “Patriots Day” (2016)], “Lone Survivor” is the biographical story of Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL who was part of an unsuccessful mission to take down Taliban leader Ahmad Shah in the mid-2000s. Wahlberg is completely in his element here, flexing his action muscles while at the same time being able to bring some color to his dramatic portrayal of Luttrell. All in all, “Lone Survivor” is a prime example of characterization helping to give real depth to action, a hallmark of Wahlberg’s work.
8. ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD (2017)
Director: Ridley Scott. Writer: David Scarpa. Starring Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Charlie Plummer, Romain Duris.
While almost all of the press for “All the Money in the World” was centered on already-shot footage of the disgraced Kevin Spacey being replaced as J. Paul Getty by Christopher Plummer, Wahlberg was very quietly delivering a rock-solid performance as Fletcher Chase, a former CIA operative and adviser to the John Paul Getty family. When J.P. III (Charlie Plummer) is kidnapped, J. Paul asks Fletcher to investigate and get his grandson back. Together with the kidnapped teen’s driven mother Gail (Michelle Williams), Fletcher drives the action on the relentless search to get the boy back before they likely kill him, given the fact that J. Paul refuses to pay any ransom. Though Plummer earned an Oscar nomination for his repair job, it’s Wahlberg and Williams who are the heart and soul of the film and who keep the audience on the edge of their seat.
7. PATRIOTS DAY (2016)
Director: Peter Berg. Writers: Peter Berg, Matt Cook, Joshua Zetumer. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, J.K. Simmons, Michelle Monaghan.
Wahlberg stars in his third film with director Peter Berg, and this one is close to the heart of his beloved Boston. As with his previous two films with Berg, “Lone Survivor” and “Deepwater Horizon,” “Patriots Day” is based on real events, in this case the deadly bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013. Wahlberg portrays Boston Police Sgt. Tommy Saunders, who, on the scene, has his hands full identifying the missing, while reuniting separated family members and searching for evidence. Later, when the bombing suspects commit a carjacking at a gas station, Saunders is there once again to find the evidence to lead his colleague to capture the suspect. There’s not a whole lot of room for character development here, but Wahlberg makes up for it by bringing his everyman gravitas to the ensemble, which helps to ground it in realistic believability for the ensemble.
6. INSTANT FAMILY (2018)
Director: Sean Anders. Writers: Sean Anders, John Morris. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Octavia Spencer, Tig Notaro.
From its ads, you might mistake “Instant Family” from one of Wahlberg’s frothy family comedies, such as the “Daddy’s Home” films. Instead, Wahlberg received some of the best reviews of his career in this comedic look at childless couple Pete (Wahlberg) and Ellie Wagner (Rose Byrne) who must negotiate the sometimes treacherous waters that is our adoption system. The film has all of the familiar family jokes you’d expect once the instant family is put together, but in the film’s subtext, Wahlberg and Byrne make you feel the pain of parents who want nothing more than to have a family and the hoops they must jump through in order to get one.
5. TED (2012)
Director: Seth MacFarlane. Writers: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane.
I don’t necessarily want to say that a film about a talking teddy bear is gimmicky, but however high-concept the idea seems to be, Wahlberg grounds this Boston-based story with his believabilty and his authentic Beantown accent. Having owned talking teddy bear Ted since he was a child, John (Wahlberg) has conversations with his inanimate friend which might ring some bells within the psychiatric community, but Wahlberg makes us feel like this is the most normal thing in the world. Financially, “Ted” garnered more then half a billion dollars worldwide and spawned a less-successful sequel, “Ted 2” in 2015.
4. THREE KINGS (1999)
Writer/Director: David O. Russell. Starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze.
“Three Kings” marked the first of three collaborations that Wahlberg has had with writer/director David O. Russell. The story is set in Iraq in 1991 during the Iraqi rebellion against Saddam Hussein and focuses on four U.S. GIs who stumble upon a map detailing just where a treasure trove of gold bullion that was stolen by Kuwait. The GIs feel that, if the bullion had already been stolen once, it can be stolen again…by them. Russell’s deft combination of caper comedy and political satire proved popular with critics, and reviews were particularly good for Wahlberg as an office worker-turned-soldier, for whom gold bullion sounds just fine.
3. BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997)
Writer/Director: Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
One of Wahlberg’s most famous roles was that of Eddie Adams, a high school dropout who becomes famous as rising porn star Dirk Diggler, whose fame is due to his good looks and large penis. Anderson’s panoramic look at the porn industry in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley in the 1970s and 80s, gave Wahlberg a large playground in which to show his stuff (in more ways than one), and the actor made the most of it, nailing both the boldness of Dirk on-camera and his insecurities off camera in such a way that it became clear that Mark Wahlberg was about to become a bona fide movie star. As part of the film’s ensemble, Wahlberg was nominated for his first SAG Award.
2. THE DEPARTED (2006)
Director: Martin Scorsese. Writer: William Monahan. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg.
In a cast filled with scene-stealers, Wahlberg earned his one Oscar nomination (to date) in this Martin Scorsese classic. I mean, Damon, Nicholson, Sheen, Baldwin…scene stealers all, yet it was Wahlberg that snagged the Best Picture’s sole supporting actor nomination. Wahlberg plays Staff Sgt. Sean Dignam, who helps to recruit Leonardo DiCaprio’s Billy Costigan to go undercover for the Boston PD, and Wahlberg’s subtle work as Sgt. Dignam is proof that his nomination was well deserved. In addition to his Oscar nod, Wahlberg received his first Golden Globe nomination, as well as his second ensemble nomination from the Screen Actors Guild.
1. THE FIGHTER (2010)
Director: David O. Russell. Writers: Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Scott Silver. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo.
One of Wahlberg’s great films, David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” is the biopic of pro boxer Micky Ward (Wahlberg) whose career has largely been being a punching bag for boxers who are their way to the top. Managed by his mother Alice (Melissa Leo) and trained by his older half-brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), Micky is desperate to get out of his unpromising career rut and break out on his own as a fighter who deserves respect. But from Micky’s viewpoint, the road to respectability is a long and difficult one. For his performance as Micky, Wahlberg received his second Golden Globe nomination and his third Screen Actors Guild ensemble nod. In addition, for producing Best Picture nominee “The Fighter,” he earned a second Oscar nomination and his third Golden Globe nod.
