Mark Wahlberg
I first saw Mark Wahlberg in Three Kings (1999 with George Clooney and Ice Cube), where he was assertive and yet somewhat playful, a role that he has been perfecting throughout the years. When Mark was in Planet of the Apes (2001) and now that he is in the latest 2 Transformers (Age of Extinction in 2014 and coming soon, The Last Knight) he takes some of the attention off of the apes and robots, which should be the major draw to those films. He is good at what he does, run/gun/shout, I wish those series were better on their own that they wouldn’t need his talents. When he was in The Departed (2006 directed by Martin Scorsese), he had fourth billing (behind DiCaprio, Damon, and Nicholson) but was able to steal scenes and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role. His best work lately is when he is paired well, working with Seth MacFarlane (Ted 1&2, 2012-2015), Will Ferrell (The Other Guys in 2010 and Daddy’s Home in 2015 which has a sequel is in the works) or in a more dramatic partnership, with director Peter Berg who has worked with Mark on Lone Survivor (2013), Deepwater Horizon (2016), Patriots Day (2016), and coming soon, Mile 22.
Mark was born in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, was an original member of the band New Kids on the Block (his older brother Donnie was also), had his own musical act by age 19, and was modelling for Calvin Klein within another 2 years. After appearing in Renaissance Man (1993 with Danny DeVito) and The Basketball Diaries (1995 with Leonardo DiCaprio), Mark starred in the thriller Fear (1996 with Reese Witherspoon). He gained a lot of attention starring in Boogie Nights (1997), he re-teamed with writer/director David O. Russell (Three Kings) for I Heart Huckabees (2004) and The Fighter (2010 with Christian Bale, the film was nominated for Best Picture), and appeared in the drama The Lovely Bones (2009 with Rachel Weisz). Wahlberg continues to deliver the action/crime/drama with roles in The Italian Job (2003), Shooter (2007), Contraband (2012), and 2 Guns (2013 with Denzel Washington). Keeping busy, also watch for Mark in director Ridley Scott’s next film, All the Money in the World.
Thank you and Happy Birthday Mark!