In an industry filled with superstars, Mark Wahlberg has held his own as an action star and an actor of repute for over 3 decades. Starting with his screen debut in 1993 with Renaissance Man, Walhberg gradually gained recognition after his critically acclaimed performance in Boogie Nights. Over the years, the Oscar nominee has been part of action thrillers like The Italian Job and Shooter while also proving his acting skills in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed.
In 2022, Wahlberg produced and starred in one of his most memorable roles in the film Father Stu which told the true story of an injured amateur boxer who finds his second calling as a Catholic priest. But the going was not easy for the Transformers actor who faced a lot of negativity and discouragement for taking on this role and financing it.
Mark Wahlberg Fought To Make Father Stu
In a past interview before the release of his 2022 drama Father Stu, Mark Wahlberg spoke in detail about how the narrative came to him and the reasons behind his decision to finance the movie. According to the actor, the story is based on a failed boxer with an onset of body myositis who finds his calling as a Catholic priest which was first pitched to him by a friend who was a priest himself.
The Departed star who is a devout Catholic himself, was inspired by the real-life character and his journey and got on board immediately as a producer and actor. Unfortunately, a few members from his circle including the Church he belonged to, did not share Wahlberg’s vision for the film owing to the presence of bad language in the script.
“Even with the Church, I wasn’t met with open arms, because of the language in the film. Which I thought was bizarre, we’ve all heard the F-word, and people talk like that. This is a movie about tough grace and tough mercy, and we wanted to be authentic in the way we approached that. We’re not preaching to the choir, we’re trying to bring in other folks”.
Wahlberg added that a few other peers who found the story humorous and inspiring were still unsure about the narrative because the protagonist dies in the end. The Shooter actor though, persevered with his vision and fended away the doubts and criticisms to push forward and do the film.
Mark Wahlberg Is Now The Highest Paid Netflix Actor For A Single Film
Mark Wahlberg has sustained his popularity over many years in Hollywood and his work and choice of films have proved that the star is in it for the long haul. Apart from holding his own amid tough competition, Wahlberg has now created a record by becoming the highest-paid Netflix actor for his film Spenser Confidential which was released in 2020. Despite the film receiving lukewarm responses from critics and audiences, the star reportedly earned a whopping $30 million for his role in the action-comedy directed by Peter Berg.
With this hefty payday, Mark Wahlberg has officially surpassed his Hollywood colleague Ryan Reynolds who was earlier the highest-paid actor on Netflix for his film 6 Underground for which he earned $27 million. Another reason for Wahlberg taking top honors is because Will Smith’s Bright 2 never saw the light of day. Smith who was supposed to take home a staggering $35 million for the film, ended up losing the opportunity owing to his slapgate scandal at the Oscars.
Source: Living Life Fearless
