Mark Wahlberg was “pissed” about his character in iconic film
Sometimes, not even the high point of an actor’s entire career is looked back on with 100% fondness. However, in the case of Mark Wahlberg, his reasons for being left irritated by one of the best movies he’s ever been a part of aren’t driven by any tangible disappointment with his own work.
It shouldn’t be, either, considering Martin Scorsese’s The Departed didn’t only win four Academy Awards including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’, but Wahlberg’s fantastic profanity-laden performance as Sean Dignam marks the one and only time he’s ever been shortlisted for an acting Oscar.
He may not have won, but the labyrinthine gangster thriller nonetheless stands out as the single most well-received turn of an on-screen career that’s fast closing in on its 30th anniversary. Even if Wahlberg’s dismay with The Departed has absolutely nothing to do with what he brought to the part.
As tends to be the case more often than not in Hollywood, his issues are instead based largely on money, with the star explaining to Happy Sad Confused that he was left more than a touch irritated after being overlooked for another role in the ensemble, which by extension reduced the size of his paycheque.
“I was a little pissed about a couple things but look, it all worked out in the end, I think,” he said. “Originally I was supposed to play another part. Originally, I was supposed to get paid.”
Although he doesn’t go into any specifics beyond that, it stands to reason that he initially had his eyes on either Billy Costigan or Colin Sullivan, eventually played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, respectively.
Brad Pitt, who optioned the rights to remake Hong Kong classic Infernal Affairs in the first place, was announced to be starring opposite DiCaprio in the earliest stages of development when The Departed first started gaining traction. Therefore, it could mean that Wahlberg wanted the Sullivan role, which was ultimately filled by another native Bostonian in Damon.
That being said, Wahlberg has admitted previously that he turned down The Departed when it was first offered to him by Scorsese, but at the time he didn’t mention he had his eyes on a different character from the one he ended up bringing to Oscar-nominated life.
As one of the only key players in the story left standing by the time the credits come up, Wahlberg’s frustration with his lack of remuneration may have left him more disappointed than most when Scorsese subsequently rejected the prospect of making any Departed sequels.
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