Mark Wahlberg names the best actors he’s ever worked with: “I was always a student of the game”
Mark Wahlberg might not be the first person you think of when you consider the great actors of the 21st century, but he does have an impressive track record. Since trading in his Marky Mark persona for that of a professional thespian, he’s earned two Oscar nominations – one for his performance in The Departed in 2007 and one for co-producing The Fighter in 2011 – and billions in box office returns.
He’s come a long way since his screen debut in 1993’s The Marky Mark Workout. Even though he has since regretted his decision to star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights in 1997, the film helped demonstrate that he had more to offer than a model’s physique and an aspiration to rap. He’s worked with some of the most famous directors in the industry since then, including Tim Burton, David O Russell, Martin Scorsese, and Jonathan Demme. He’s also had some impressive co-stars, including Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio, Julianne Moore, and Joaquin Phoenix.
In an interview in 2023, the actor was asked which actors were his favourite to work with, and he rattled off a list of heavy hitters. Danny Devito, who starred with him in his second film, 1994’s Renaissance Man, made the list, as did Jack Nicholson, who starred with him in The Departed. He also mentioned Robert Duvall, who appeared with him in 2007’s We Own the Night, and James Caan, who appeared with him in 2000’s The Yards.
“God, I’ve worked with so many talented people,” he said. “A lot who are no longer here. I’ve been very, very fortunate. Denzel [Washington], Bill Paxton, God rest his soul. James Gammon, Luke Askew. I was always a student of the game.”
Wahlberg and Washington starred together in the 2013 buddy cop movie 2 Guns, which fit Wahlberg’s persona and filmography perfectly but didn’t quite meet Washington’s usual standards. Paxton, Gammon, and Askew were all co-stars with Wahlberg early in his career in the film Traveller, in which Paxton teaches his young protegée the ins and outs of being a member of an Irish-American gang.
Wahlberg had particularly high praise and gratitude for Devito, who took him under his wing during the filming of Renaissance Man, helping him learn the ropes of a film set by answering any questions he had and explaining all the different behind-the-scenes jobs. One actor whose kindness he did not point out was Nicholson, probably because there wasn’t any to be found when they worked together.
Nicholson was famously unimpressed with Wahlberg as an actor, finding his improvisational style particularly irritating. It even seemed to annoy Scorsese, who told the actor in no uncertain terms to stop. The fact that he was growing his hair out for another role at the time he was shooting The Departed didn’t help. Wahlberg has said that he isn’t a method actor, but the tension on set may have been an unexpected boon. To date, The Departed is the only film to earn him an acting Oscar nomination.
