With Max Payne shotting his way onto cinema screens this friday, Movies.ie presents ten things you never knew about Marky Mark!
Video game adaptations aren’t known for making quality cinema (take “Street Fighter” and the point is made).That’s why it was somewhat of a delight to find Max Payne, the John Woo-influenced shoot ’em up, such a joy to watch. And perhaps more suprising is that the film’s sucesss is due in large part to Mark Wahlberg’s performance of Payne – the maverick cop and mythic anti-hero – determined to track down those responsible for the brutal murders of his family and partner. But what do you know about the former juvenile delinquent, turned rapper and finally actor:
(1) Wahlberg first started out as a musician in Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch; they debuted on “The Arsenio Hall Show” in the early 1990’s. He has since vowed never to return to music (breath a sigh of relief)
(2) Mark was originally cast as Linus Caldwell in Ocean’s Eleven (2001) but dropped out. Matt Damon later took over the role.
(3) Wahlberg has a tattoo of Bob Marley on his left shoulder.
(4) His older brother Donnie was a member of the boy group New Kids on the Block; Wahlberg was originally a member however left before the band’s big break.
(5) It’s unconfirmed that Mark was a scheduled passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. He reportedly cancelled his place on this flight at the last minute to visit a childhood friend in Toronto
(6) Martin Scorsese directed Wahlberg to his very first Academy Award nomination as “Sgt. Sean Dignam” in The Departed.
(7) He considers ‘The Truth about Charlie’ his worst film and ‘The Departed’ his best
(8) Wahlberg reportedly kept a souvenir from Boogie Nights, the infamous fake penis used in the final shot of the film.
(9) At 17 year old Mark served 45 days of a two-year prison sentence at Deer Island, an adult prison, after he assaulted a Vietnamese refugee during a robbery attempt.
(10) Mark Wahlberg reportedly never played the ‘Max Payne’ video game as he didn’t want to become addicted, and felt the script connected him to the story enough.
“Max Payne” hits Irish cinemas this Friday, November 14th.