Mark Wahlberg is one of the most recognisable, successful, and popular actors and has returned to the big screen with his brand new movie The Gambler.
Mark Wahlberg in The Gambler
During his career, Wahlberg has tackled a wide range of movies that has seen him tackle action, comedy, blockbuster, and biopic roles. To celebrate the release of The Gambler, we take a look at some of the best roles of Wahlberg's career to date.
- The Departed
It was back in 2006 when The Departed hit the big screen - hard to believe that it was only a decade ago - and saw Wahlberg team up with director Martin Scorsese.
From the same writer as The Gambler; the 2006 gritty Boston gangster film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon has gone down as a classic for many, if you don't let the complex plot line of undercover cops, double crossing, and gangsters lose you. Wahlberg took on the supporting role of Dignam in the film, and it was a part that was to bring a comedic element and well and truly steal the show from the likes of DiCaprio, Damon, and Jack Nicholson.
Wahlberg actually based his performance upon the police officers who'd arrested him roughly two dozen times in his youth. His no-nonsense and foul-mouthed rants were major highlights in what was a terrific performance from Wahlberg.
Wahlberg went on to be nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award - however, he failed to scoop any of the major awards. The Departed went on to win the Best Picture Oscar.
- The Fighter
The Fighter was a movie that was a bit of a passion project for Wahlberg as he teamed up with David O. Russell to bring the biopic to the big screen.
2010 biographical sports drama film based on the true story of real life brothers, Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund. We follow the boxing career of rising star Micky (Wahlberg), and the dissolving life of his crack-addict brother and trainer; previous title winner Micky (Christian Bale).
The Fighter would mark the third time that Wahlberg had teamed up with Russell, having worked together on I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings in 2004 and 1999. This was a project that suffered from delays and in the end, Wahlberg had trained for four years by the time cameras started rolling in 2009.
The Fighter is a real character driven movie with the likes of Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams all delivering terrific performances. This is a movie that is as much about family and the bond of brothers as it is about boxing - that is what really does elevate this movie to more than just another boxing movies.
The movie went on to be nominated for six Oscars - including Best Picture - with Bale and Leo winning Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
- Boogie Nights
It was back in 1998 when Boogie Nights hit the big screen, but it remains one of Wahlberg's most iconic and best known movie roles.
The film saw Wahlberg team up with writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson for the seventies drama portraying an adult film director (Burt Reynolds) discovering great potential in Eddie Adams (Wahlberg) who would rise to fame and become Dirk Diggler. Boogie Nights is an unflinching look at the porn industry and was a groundbreaking movie for both Anderson and Wahlberg. This is a movie that was grounded in terrific characters and Wahlberg delivered a performance that really did help to put him on the map as a bona fide leading man.
Many people thought it wouldn't be successful, but were surprised when it received wide spread praise and critical acclaim. The movie went on to pick up three Oscar nominations: Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress for Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore.
- Ted
In recent years, Wahlberg has shown that he is a terrific comedy actor and Ted was the movie in this genre that has brought him the greatest success.
Ted saw Wahlberg team up with Seth MacFarlane on the big screen for the first time as MacFarlane made his feature film directorial debut with the movie.
To have your teddy bear come to life is every child's dream, but 27 years later John (Wahlberg) is struggling to balance his time between his furry best friend (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) and his girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis).
Ted was a movie that was a mix of live action and motion capture - which MacFarlane performed to bring Ted to life... and he and Wahlberg proved to be a great comedic team. The bromance element to the movie is something that we have seen so many times, but that didn't stop Ted from being laugh out loud funny. The movie grossed over $549 million at the box office, making it the 12th highest grossing film of 2012 and the highest grossing original R-rated comedy of all time.
A sequel is in the pipeline and is set to hit the big screen this summer. MacFarlane is back in the director's chair, while Wahlberg will reprise the role of John.
- Three Kings
We have already looked at one Wahlberg/Russell collaboration with The Fighter, but Three Kings was the first time that the actor teamed up with the director.
After the Gulf war, three American soldiers plan to go home rich, by stealing a huge cache of gold meant to be hidden in the desert. Alongside George Clooney and Ice Cube, the soldiers face unexpected adventure and drastic challenges that change their lives. While filming a torture scene, Mark Wahlberg was given electric shocks for real, saying that he wanted to get into the role properly. Many refugees from Iraq were used as extras in this also, leading to the film being banned in the country.
Three Kings is a movie that sees Russell successfully blend the elements of action, drama, and comedy together in a film that really is a terrific watch. The screenplay was penned by John Ridley and was a movie that was as intelligent as it was action packed. In fact, the second half of the movie does take a much darker turn and includes some quite dark and rather grim moments.
Wahlberg, Clooney, and Ice Cube are all terrific and Three Kings remains one of David O. Russell's best movies.
