Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg, known simply as Mark Wahlberg, is one of the most successful actors of the 21st century.
A Boston native through and through, Wahlberg first broke into the entertainment industry as a member of the hip-hop music group “Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.”
The then-rapper released two albums with the group “Music for the People” and “You Gotta Believe” in 1991 and 1992, respectively.
After gaining success as a rapper, Wahlberg shifted his eyes towards acting and made his screen debut in 1994’s Renaissance Man. Then two years later, the actor had his first starring role in 1996’s Fear.
However, Wahlberg’s first critically lauded performance was as adult actor Dirk Diggler in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights.
Wahlberg followed up the success of Boogie Nights by appearing in big-budget movies for much of the early 2000s, most notably 2001’s Planet of the Apes and 2003’s The Italian Job.
His best-known role came in the mid-noughties in 2006’s The Departed, for which Wahlberg was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.
Overall, Wahlberg has won one BAFTA and been nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards, eight Primetime Emmy Awards, two Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.
Wahlberg was the world’s highest-paid actor in 2017.
Here Are Some Fast Facts About Mark Wahlberg
| 51 |
| $400 Million |
| Actor, Businessman, Producer |
| American |
| Rhea Durham |
| 4 |
| June 5, 1971 |
| Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| 1989 – Present |
What Illness Does Mark Wahlberg Have?
Mark Wahlberg has no illnesses, but rumors about his health started when he lost 30 pounds.
Wahlberg gained 30 pounds, seemingly out of nowhere, to play the lead character in the movie Father Stu.
The movie is a biographical drama film about boxer-turned-Catholic priest Stuart Long who suffers from inclusion body myositis.
Inclusion body myositis is when the proximal muscles, which are muscles located on or close to the torso, and distal muscles, which are muscles close to hands or feet, start to waste away.
The illness makes whoever possesses it very weak and comes on slowly in an asymmetric manner. IBM happens more in men than women and makes patients unable to perform daily activities.
The real Stuart Long passed away on June 9, 2014, due to complications because of his inclusion body myositis.
Wahlberg gained 30 pounds in order to faithfully portray the bodily changes that Stuart Long went through in his own life.
According to the actor, he ate up to eight meals daily: a dozen eggs, dozen pieces of bacon, a cup of olive oil, and a porterhouse steak.
Mark Wahlberg’s Health Condition
Mark Wahlberg had to gain 30 pounds for his lead role in Father Stu, but it did not affect his health.
Actors gaining and losing weight for their movie roles is no new news. Many great actors have done it.
A famous example is Christian Bale, who became almost stick thin for his role in the 2004 movie The Machinist and gained it all back within a year for 2005’s Batman Begins.
A more recent example is legendary artist Viola Davis who went up to 200 pounds to play the titular character in 2020’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and then, within a year, toned her body to muscle in 2022’s The Woman King.
Even in the genre of boxer biopics, Robert De Niro did the same with the 1980s Raging Bull.
When asked about the process of gaining all that weight for the 2022 movie, Wahlberg stated that it was a grueling one. The actor increased his calorie uptake to 11,000 calories a day.
The actor had to struggle with eating lots of starches and sodium because of the protein he had to do to get that bloated look.
A reason behind Wahlberg’s dedication to the role is that he self-financed the movie and spent millions of dollars to get it made.
What Happened To Mark Wahlberg?
Thankfully, Mark Wahlberg’s dedication paid off as the movie, Father Stu, ended up being a success.
The movie was projected to gross around $7 million from 2,705 theatres over its five-day-opening weekend in the United States and Canada. It ended up making $2.3 million within the first two days.
On its opening weekend, Father Stu debuted at $5.4 million; over the five days, it grossed $7.7 million, finishing fifth at the box office.
The second weekend saw a 38% decline as the movie dropped to eighth place and grossed $3.3 million.
The third weekend saw another decline as it made $2.2 million, and the fourth weekend saw it make $875,091.
The movie dropped out of the box office top ten in its fifth weekend after making $422,13. The movie has grossed over $21 million.
Despite its financial and commercial success, the reviews from the critics have been more mixed than positive.
The dichotomy between the critics and the fans is most apparent on the website Rotten Tomatoes, where the film has an approval rating of 42% based on 118 reviews from critics and an audience score of 95%.