Mark Wahlberg has had quite the eclectic career. After a troubled upbringing in Boston, Wahlberg first rose to fame in his rapper guise, Marky Mark. After a stint as an underwear model, Wahlberg left the Funky Bunch behind and kick-started an acting career in the mid '90s through films like The Substitute and The Basketball Diaries. Flash forward to the present, and Wahlberg has become one of the more popular leading men in Hollywood.
Wahlberg's latest starring vehicle is Pain and Gain, where he raises hell alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. In honor of that new release, we've decided to look back at Wahlberg's long career and pick out his best, most memorable roles. Whether he's playing a porn star, a battle-hardened soldier, a scrappy boxer, or an honest working joe whose best friend is a talking teddy bear, these are the movies any Wahlberg fan needs to see.
If not Wahlberg's first foray into Hollywood, The Basketball Diaries was the first film that saw audiences acknowledge his acting talent. No small feat considering that this movie was also Leonardo DiCaprio's pre-Romeo + Juliet breakout role. Wahlberg's played Micky, part of a circle of high basketball players who lose sight of their promising futures in a downward spiral of drug abuse and prostitution. Wahlberg brought a true sense of authenticity to his tough guy role, no doubt drawing from his own troubled youth. The Basketball Dairies isn't exactly a pleasant movie to watch, but it hits hard and features great performances from these then up-and-coming actors. And this was a role that would set the tone for Wahlberg's career moving forward.
It's a testament to the quality of Pain and Gain that the movie already ranks in Wahlberg's top ten despite only just hitting theaters this week. This film sees Michael Bay take a much-needed break from giant robots and multi-million dollar pyrotechnics to focus on a smaller sort of drama. Here, Wahlberg plays Daniel Lugo, an ambitious bodybuilder who could be the next Scarface if not for his complete lack of intelligence or common sense. It's a capsule of so many of Wahlberg's roles, as he's well known for playing tough guys and meatheads.
Together with his two criminal associates (played by Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie) Lugo attempts to bilk a billionaire out of his massive fortune. The movie has a slapstick quality at times, but the fact that it's based on a true story also lends a certain weight to the death and devastation that arises when Lugo's plans go awry.
I Heart Huckabees is a difficult film to summarize, and critical reaction to the movie was somewhat mixed. But no critics seemed to have any complaints with Wahlberg's performance. In this film, the second collaboration between Wahlberg and director David O. Russell, the actor co-starred opposite Jason Schwartzman. Wahlberg played Tommy, a no-nonsense firefighter who is drawn into Schwartzman's character's obsessive, existential quest for understanding. After a career largely built on loud, tough guy roles, this was a refreshing dramatic shift for Wahlberg.
The Italian Job is less a remake of the classic 1969 car heist film starring Michael Caine and more of a loose homage. The focus in this heist movie shifted from Venice to Los Angeles and helped popularize the new Mini Cooper. Wahlberg plays Charlie Croker, a lifelong thief who is hoping to carry out the proverbial "one last job." But after a betrayal by one of his own, Croker teams with a ragtag band (including Charlize Theron, Mos Def, and Jason Statham) for a little combined payback and payday. The movie benefits from a far tighter and more energetic pace than its predecessor, not unlike the Ocean's Eleven remake (a movie Wahlberg nearly starred in several years previous).
Wahlberg didn't really break the mold with this role, as he was yet again playing a tough guy with a heart of gold. But the role was different by degrees. Croker was comparatively quiet and good-natured compared to many of Wahlberg's previous characters. This movie highlighted a gradual softening of Wahlberg's hard edges that has continued in many recent roles.
The Other Guys is the fourth collaboration between Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay. For this effort, they brought Wahlberg along for the ride. Ferrell and Wahlberg play detective Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz, respectively. These two down-on-their-luck cops are stuck shoveling paperwork while their cooler, more competent colleagues are out on the streets. But an investigation into a crooked CEO (Steve Coogan) allows Gamble and Hoitz the opportunity to finally get some action for themselves for a change. The result was a bombastic buddy cop spoof in the same vein as Hot Fuzz.
While the movie deserves credit for restoring some of the luster Ferrell had lost in movies like Land of the Lost, it was also a surprisingly enjoyable comedic turn for Wahlberg. He played straight man to Ferrell's more bombastic character, and the result was a strong dynamic that proved Wahlberg had comedic chops in addition to being a handsome bad boy. The Other Guys paved the way for more recent Wahlberg-led comedies like Ted.
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