Mark Wahlberg
Birthdate: Jun 5, 1971
Birthplace: Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Mark Wahlberg (birthname: Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg) is firm proof against F. Scott Fitzgerald’s statement that there are no second acts in American lives. A drug dealer and addict at the young age of 13 and convicted of attempted murder at 17, Wahlberg turned his life around first as rapper “Marky Mark” in the group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and then as a star with one of the more successful careers in recent American movies.
Not surprisingly, Mark Wahlberg has portrayed several characters who go through similar life transformations or defy extreme odds, most recently in the Columbia Pictures drama based on the true story of a boxer-turned-priest, Father Stu (2022).
Although he had small movie roles following his stint as “Marky Mark” and his decision to shift from music to acting, it was only in 1997 with Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, as rising porn star Dirk Diggler, that Mark Wahlberg achieved artistic fame and erased the somewhat demeaning “Marky Mark” brand.
This was followed by his impressive work opposite George Clooney in David O. Russell’s caustic war film, Three Kings (1999) and in James Gray’s powerful urban drama, The Yards (2000), with Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, and James Caan. Mark Wahlberg became a bona fide star who could carry or share a load of big-scale productions with Wolfgang Petersen’s The Perfect Storm (2000, reuniting with Clooney) and Fox’s reboot of Planet of the Apes (2001).
Reuniting with Russell, Wahlberg displayed a more cockeyed comic appeal in Russell’s I Heart Huckabees (2004), before scoring an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Martin Scorsese’s crime epic, The Departed (2006).
If Mark Wahlberg has had a specialty, it’s in his rooted ability to capture the lives of men (often though not exclusively from the Boston area) who’ve either drifted into lives of crime or find themselves dangerously close to it. He showed this off in John Singleton’s Four Brothers (2005), Antoine Fuqua’s Shooter (2007), James Gray’s We Own the Night (2007, reuniting with Gray and Phoenix), Max Payne (2008), plus his first of several collaborations with Michael Bay, the amusing crime comedy Pain & Gain (2013).
Wahlberg’s biggest artistic success as an actor and producer was very likely his third project with Russell, The Fighter (2010), with Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. It was nominated for seven Oscars (including a Best Picture nod for producer Wahlberg) and swept the Best Supporting Actor category for both Bale and Leo. The Wahlberg-Bay connection continued with two hugely successful blockbusters in the Transformers series: Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and Transformers: The Last Knight (2017).
These parallel two other successful series in a comic vein Seth MacFarlane’s Ted (2012) and Ted 2 (2015), and Daddy’s Home (2015) and Daddy’s Home 2 (2017). Wahlberg balanced these with brawny, ripped-from-the-headlines, character-driven dramas in 2016, Deepwater Horizon and the underrated Patriots Day, followed by Ridley Scott’s harrowing drama about the Getty kidnapping, All the Money in the World (2017) and Uncharted (2022).
Mark Wahlberg has blended his activities as an actor and producer to an unusual degree, devoting time to developing projects (such as Patriots Day, Mile 22 (2018), Instant Family (2018), and Father Stu) in which he serves as a hands-on producer and star. His appearance as Robert Parker’s beloved detective character, Spencer in Spenser Confidential (2020), suggests possibilities for a long-running franchise. Wahlberg continued as star-producer with Lionsgate’s adventure movie, Arthur the King (2024), and then Wahlberg stepped aboard director-producer Mel Gibson’s thriller for Lionsgate, Flight Risk (date to be announced). Wahlberg was then star-producer on the Travis Knight-directed The Six Billion Dollar Man (date to be announced), a feature remake of the hit TV series, The Six Million Dollar Man.
In addition to his long track record as a star, Wahlberg has amassed over 40 credits as a producer, including We Own the Night, The Fighter (2010), the long-running, semi-autobiographical HBO series, Entourage (2004-2011), Lone Survivor (2013), The Gambler (2014), Patriots Day, Spenser Confidential, Joe Bell (2020) and Father Stu.
Wahlberg was also a producer only on the non-fiction investigative movie, MoviePass, MovieCrash (2024), the Muta’Ali Muhammad-directed look inside the failed ticket-buying project MoviePass.
Mark Wahlberg’s considerable business projects outside of filmmaking would by themselves constitute an impressive entrepreneurial resume: Co-owner of the Wahlburgers fast food chain (with brothers Donnie and Paul); co-owner of five Chevrolet and Oldsmobile dealerships in the Columbus and Cleveland areas of Ohio; creator of the bottled water, Aquahydrate; co-founder of sports nutrition brand, Performance Inspired; co-owner of the Barbados Trident cricket team, among other enterprises.
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Personal Details
The youngest son of Donald and Alma Wahlberg in a family of eleven, Mark Wahlberg grew up in the tough Boston neighbourhood of Dorchester. He was addicted to cocaine and other drugs by age 13. He failed high school and only received his diploma at age 42.
He was arrested for attempted murder when he was 17, and sentenced to a prison term of two years, of which he served less than two months. Wahlberg is married to model Rhea Durham. They have four children. His estimated net worth is $300 million. Height is 5’ 8”.
Awards
Nominee, Best Supporting Actor, Academy Awards (2007); Nominee, Best Picture, Academy Awards (2011); Eight-time nominee, Emmy Awards (2007-2009, 2011-2012, 2014-2015, 2020); Two-time nominee, Golden Globe Awards (2007, 2011); Winner, Supporting Actor, National Society of Film Critics (2007); Winner, Peabody Award (2002); Three-time nominee, Screen Actors Guild Awards (1998, 2007, 2011); Hollywood Walk of Fame (2010).
Actor
Screen Actors Guild Awards
BAFTA TV Award
BAFTA Awards
Filmography
actor
Upcoming (1)
- 2025 | Flight RiskasPilot
Flight Risk
A pilot transports an Air Marshal accompanying a fugitive to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem.
Previous (72)
- 2024 | Arthur the KingasMichael
Arthur the King
An adventure racer adopts a stray dog named Arthur to join him in an epic endurance race.
- 2023 | Commitment to Life
- 2023 | The Disciple Program
- 2023 | Untitled Jack Lalanne biopic
- 2023 | Untitled Mile 22 Sequel
- 2023 |
- 2022 | Me Timeas Huck Dembo
- 2022 | The Amory Wars
- 2022 | Father StuasStuart Long
Father Stu
Follows the life of Father Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-priest who inspired countless people during his journey from self-destruction to redemption.
- 2022 |
- 2021 |
- 2021 |
- 2021 | Scoob!: 2021 Re-releaseasBlue Falcon
Scoob!: 2021 Re-release
Scooby and the gang face their most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop this dogpocalypse, the gang discovers that Scooby has an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.
- 2020 |
- 2020 | Spenser Confidentialas Spenser
- 2019 | The Unionas Ted Pilbeam
- 2018 | The Cure
- 2018 | Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1
- 2018 |
- 2018 |
- 2017 | The Roman
- 2017 | All the Money in the WorldasFletcher Chace
All the Money in the World
The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.
- 2017 | Daddy’s Home 2asDusty
Daddy’s Home 2
Having finally gotten used to each other's existence, Brad and Dusty must now deal with their intrusive fathers during the holidays.
- 2017 | Transformers: The Last KnightasCade Yeager
Transformers: The Last Knight
A deadly threat from Earth's history reappears and a hunt for a lost artifact takes place between Autobots and Decepticons, while Optimus Prime encounters his creator in space.
- 2016 | Home Invasionas Host
- 2016 | The Six Billion Dollar Manas Steve Austin
- 2017 | Patriots DayasTommy Saunders
Patriots Day
The story of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists responsible.
- 2016 | Deepwater HorizonasMike Williams
Deepwater Horizon
A dramatization of the disaster in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon exploded, resulting in the worst oil spill in American history.
- 2015 | Daddy’s HomeasDusty Mayron
Daddy’s Home
Brad Whitaker is a radio host trying to get his stepchildren to love him and call him Dad. But his plans turn upside down when their biological father, Dusty Mayron, returns.
- 2015 |
- 2014 | The GamblerasJim Bennett
The Gambler
Literature professor and gambler Jim Bennett's debt causes him to borrow money from his mother and a loan shark. Further complicating his situation, is his relationship with one of his students. Will Bennett risk his life for a second chance?
- 2014 | Transformers: Age of ExtinctionasCade Yeager
Transformers: Age of Extinction
When humanity allies with a bounty hunter in pursuit of Optimus Prime, the Autobots turn to a mechanic and his family for help.
- 2013 | Avon Man
- 2013 | Lone SurvivorasMarcus Luttrell
Lone Survivor
Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.
- 2013 |
- 2013 | Pain & GainasDaniel Lugo
Pain & Gain
A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.
- 2013 | Broken CityasBilly Taggart
Broken City
In a city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure: Mayor Nicholas Hostetler.
- 2012 | Bait and Switch
- 2012 | The Fighter 2
- 2012 |
- 2012 | ContrabandasChris Farraday
Contraband
To protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, a former smuggler heads to Panama to score millions of dollars in counterfeit bills.
- 2011 | Cocaine Cowboys
- 2011 | Der Weg des Ruhmsas Lanny
- 2010 | Date Nightas Holbrooke
- 2010 | The Fighteras Producer
- 2010 | The Other Guysas Terry Hoitz
- 2010 | When Corruption Was King
- 2009 | The Lovely Bonesas Jack Salmon
- 2008 | Max Payneas Max Payne
- 2008 | The Happeningas Elliot Moore
- 2008 | Three Mississippi
- 2007 | 2nd Unit: Invisible Action Stars
- 2007 | Shooteras Bob Lee Swagger
- 2007 | Untitled Basketball Project
- 2007 | We Own the Nightas Joseph Grusinsky
- 2006 | Invincibleas Vince Papale
- 2006 | The Departedas Dignam
- 2006 | The DepartedasDignam
The Departed
An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
- 2005 | Four Brothersas Bobby Mercer
- 2004 | I Heart Huckabeesas Tommy Corn
- 2003 | The Italian Jobas Charlie Croker
- 2002 | The Truth About Charlieas Lewis Bartholamew
- 2001 | Planet of the Apesas Captain Leo Davidson
- 2001 | Rock Staras Chris 'Izzy' Cole
- 2000 | The Perfect Stormas Bobby Shatford
- 2000 | The Yardsas Leo Handler
- 1999 | The Corruptoras Danny Wallace
- 1999 | Three Kingsas Troy Barlow
- 1998 | The Big Hitas Melvin Smiley
- 1997 | Boogie Nightsas Dirk DigglerEddie Adams
- 1997 | Travelleras Pat
- 1950 | The Family Planas Self - Host
producer
Previous (2)
- 1943 |
- 2015 |
Some Facts About Mark Wahlberg
Relation: On his mother Alma’s side, Mark Wahlberg is related to American author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
New Kid: For a brief time when he was 13, Wahlberg was a member of his brother Donnie’s breakout boy band, New Kids on the Block.
Near-miss: Mark Wahlberg was booked on American Airlines Flight 11 on Sept. 11, 2001, which was hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center. He canceled his reservation due to scheduling changes.
Nicknames: In his former pop music career, Wahlberg was known as “Marky Mark.”
Model: Mark Wahlberg was a model, posing in underwear, for a set of Calvin Klein ads shot by famed photographer Herb Ritts.
Felon: Because of his felony conviction for attempted murder, Wahlberg is legally prohibited from handling firearms—and yet has handled firearms during pre-production prep for some of his movies.
