Mark Wahlberg is thinking about his future.
The seasoned actor, producer and entrepreneur spoke with Cigar lover to cover the publication’s September/October issue, in which he talks to Marvin R. Shanken about his past, present and future business endeavors. In particular, the 52-year-old successful star wonders how long he will be able to stay in front of the cameras.
“Well, I’m certainly working harder than ever. Some businesses, you kind of build them, you pass them on, or you leave them. I hope my kids see what their interests are, but I don’t think I’ll be doing it for much longer at the pace I’m doing it now,” he explains, referring to his four children with wife Rhea Durham. “That’s for sure. Because it’s the hardest thing.
That pace has led to a string of recent films on the acting side, including Me Time, Father Stu, Uncharted, Infinite, Joe Bell And Spenser Confidential and upcoming titles like Arthur the King, The Union, The Family Plan, Risk of flight And The Six Billion Dollar Man. During the wide-ranging conversation, Wahlberg spoke about his family, his faith and how creating his own opportunities as a producer helped him diversify his Hollywood resume.
“I started becoming a producer out of necessity,” he says. “I didn’t want to sit around waiting for Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise or whoever was already established before me and who the guys were at the time, and Leo [DiCaprio] go play a movie until I can get my hands on it. I was always proactive in trying to find materials and things that I could produce, that I knew were good for me, to create my own destiny.
On this subject, Wahlberg admits that he could continue to develop his talents in the director’s chair by “working with some of the other great talents”, including the next generation. In the meantime, he is busy building his empire which includes the Flecha Azul tequila brand.
Fans of his past filmography may appreciate what he had to say about playing porn actor Dirk Diggler in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 film. Boogie evenings. “When I first heard about the movie, the subject matter didn’t appeal to me. I was coming from the whole Marky Mark thing, pulling down my pants, my Calvin Klein underwear – I didn’t know if it was was just the next level of exploitation and now all of a sudden we have to lose the underwear,” he recalls. “My agents kept pushing me. So I read the 25, First 30 pages, and I kind of left it out. I felt like this could be something great, or it could be absolutely terrible.
