Actor Mark Wahlberg has admitted that he started producing TV and film “out of necessity” for his career.
The 52-year-old began acting in 1993 when he appeared in TV film, The Substitute, before making his big screen debut opposite Danny DeVito in 1994’s Renaissance Man.
Three decades on, he has starred in critically acclaimed films including Boogie Nights, The Fighter, The Departed and The Perfect Storm.
Despite his fame on-screen, Wahlberg earned his first executive producing credit on 2004 crime documentary Juvies, which explored juvenile criminals who have been tried as adults.
That first credit led to him to produce or executive produce many of his own major releases, including Ted (2012), Deepwater Horizon (2016), Patriots Day (2016), and Father Stu (2022).
He also has produced shows such as Entourage, Boardwalk Empire and docuseries, McMillions.
Speaking about what motivated him to start producing, Wahlberg admitted that he had to out of fear he wouldn’t get work – work that he said was being offered to fellow movie stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise before him.
He told Cigar Aficionado magazine: “I started becoming a producer out of necessity.
“I didn’t want to sit around waiting for Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise or whoever was already established before me and were the guys at the time, and Leo [DiCaprio], to go and pass on a movie until I could get my hands on it.
“I was always proactive in trying to find material and things that I could produce, that I knew was right for me, create my own destiny.”
Not content with his producing and acting careers, The Other Guys actor said he wants to try to his hand at directing next in a bid to work “with the next batch of great talent”.
It’s clear that he’s thinking of the future, revealing that he doesn’t “think [he’ll] be acting that much longer at the pace I am now”.
