Mark Wahlberg

For an actor and television show host, see Mark L. Walberg.

Mark Wahlberg
Born	Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg
Other names	Marky Mark Monk D
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)

Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971 in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts) is an Academy Award-nominated American entertainer, formerly known as a rapper, now active as an actor and television producer. He has also done modeling but never was a full time male fashion model.

Biography

Early life

Wahlberg was born in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts to Catholic parents Donald Edward Wahlberg and Alma Elaine Donnelly. His paternal grandfather, Axel Simon Wahlberg, was of Swedish descent, while the remainder of his ancestry is Irish and French Canadian.[1] He graduated from Copley Square High School on Newbury Street in Boston.

Career

Wahlberg first came to fame as the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg of the successful bubblegum pop group New Kids on the Block. Mark had been hired as an original member of the group but quit before it became a success.

File:Skycover.jpg

SKY Magazine cover from November 1993 featuring Wahlberg in his Marky Mark persona.

Mark began recording as Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch, earning a hit with "Good Vibrations" from the album Music for the People. The record was produced by his brother Donnie. Marky Mark opend for the New Kids during their last sell-out 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. He later publicly dissociated himself from Ranks' comments, but after widespread media coverage.[2]

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: Fitness, Form, Focus. 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.

He 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, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, Four Brothers, and The Italian Job.

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 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 [[3]].

Personal life

Wahlberg has two children with Rhea Durham; Ella Rae born on September 2, 2003, and son Michael, born on March 22, 2006.

Discography

• Music for the People (1991)
• You Gotta Believe (1992)

Selected filmography

See the complete Mark Wahlberg filmography at IMDb

• The Brazilian Job (2008) ... Charlie Croker
• Shooter (2007) ... Bob Lee Swagger
• The Departed (2006) ... Sgt. Bryce Dignam
• Life of Marlon O'Reilly (2006) ... Himself
• Invincible (2006) ... Vince Papale
• Four Brothers (2005) ... Bobby Mercer
• I Heart Huckabees (2004) ... Tommy Corn
• The Italian Job (2003) ... Charlie Croker
• The Truth About Charlie (2002) ... Joshua Peters
• Rock Star (2001) ... Chris 'Izzy' Cole
• Planet of the Apes (2001) ... Capt. Leo Davidson
• The Perfect Storm (2000) ... Bobby Shatford
• The Yards (2000) ... Leo Handler
• Three Kings (1999) ... Sfc. Troy Barlow
• The Corruptor (1999) ... Danny Wallace
• The Big Hit (1998) ... Melvin Smiley
• Boogie Nights (1997) ... Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler
• Traveller (1997) ... Pat O'Hara
• Fear (1996) ... David McCall
• The Basketball Diaries (1995) ... Mickey
• Renaissance Man (1994) ... Pvt. Tommy Lee Haywood

Trivia

• 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. [4]
• Was a scheduled passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11 2001. [5]
• He has said in many interviews that he plans to retire when he is 40. [6]
• "The Touch", a song by Stan Bush, gained some notoriety when Mark Wahlberg performed it in his 1997 film Boogie Nights.
• Claims to have been arrested 20-25 times by the Boston Police Department as a youth. [7]

External links

• Mark Wahlberg at IMDb
• [www.moviehole.net/news/464.html Mark Wahlberg interview]