‘The Basketball Diaries’: When Mark Wahlberg “wasn’t convinced” that Leonardo DiCaprio could play Jim Carroll
Though he might have damaged his reputation somewhat with a bunch of Transformers movies and his hand in creating Entourage, it’s important to remember that Mark Wahlberg can actually be a good actor. The likes of Boogie Nights, The Departed, and The Other Guys prove that the Boston native can be more than just a Marky Mark cosplayer. There’s also The Fighter, a compelling sports drama in which he played real-life boxer ‘Irish’ Micky Ward.
Whilst on the press tour for the movie, which bagged Wahlberg a Golden Globe nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor’, he spoke about his early days in the acting business. “At first, I was against the idea,” he told NJ.com. “But then I got Renaissance Man, and the director, Penny Marshall, she challenged me… I felt like I had found my niche. I knew this was what I wanted to do. But I also knew it was going to be an uphill battle. If I wanted to be in it for the long haul, I was going to have to take it one role at a time and find people I could learn from.”
The inspiration would come just a year later on the set of The Basketball Diaries, where he met future Departed co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. According to Wahlberg, the two didn’t see eye-to-eye at first: “He was not into it,” he recalled. “I tell you, I wasn’t convinced he was the right guy to be playing this street legend.” After some initial hesitation, however, the two finally got on the same page. “When we finally got in a room together, we hit it off,” he continued. “There was like this instant level of respect, and we went out that night partying and have been friends ever since.”
The Basketball Diaries, a biopic based on the life of writer and singer Jim Carroll, was a major launching pad for young Leo’s career. His performance as Carroll, a young man battling a drug addiction, caught a lot of people’s attention. Wahlberg plays Mickey, one of Carroll’s friends with whom he engages in various forms of hooliganism.
The Wahlberg-DiCaprio rivalry was like gold to mid-1990s tabloid writers. Ironically, it all started over a game of basketball, specifically an edition of MTV’s annual ‘Rock ‘n’ Jock’ event in 1992. The two up-and-coming stars were on opposite teams, with Wahlberg blocking a shot from DiCaprio that would have won the game for his side. Apparently, this is the genesis of why the two didn’t get along for the longest time. If that seems awfully petty to you, that’s because it is.
It’s possible that DiCaprio didn’t appreciate the path Wahlberg had taken to becoming an actor. The latter had gotten his start as a ‘rapper’ in a cheesy boy band, whilst the former had worked his way up the ranks ‘the right way’, beginning as a child actor in various commercials. You can see how this would have been frustrating to two young men at the starts of their respective careers.
However, their past beef might have ignited, and the two were able to put their differences aside. Both do a great job with their respective roles in The Basketball Diaries, a fact made even more impressive when you realise the backstage drama that was going on at the time.
