The “very graphic” scene that made Mark Wahlberg walk away from a movie
During his career, Mark Wahlberg has starred in many movies that could be deemed as graphic, whether it applies to the levels of violence prevalent on-screen, the heavy use of profanity, or intimate scenes that necessitate an R-rating, but there was one line he wouldn’t cross.
Despite being an Academy Award-nominated actor after making the shortlist for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ following his scene-stealing performance in The Departed, Wahlberg has often preferred to take his talents to the action, thriller, and comedy genres at the expense of making a concerted push into drama, but he almost starred in a film that led to one of the biggest Oscars upsets in recent memory.
Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain may have picked up three trophies, including ‘Best Director’, but the powerful drama was overlooked in the ‘Best Picture’ race in favour of Paul Haggis’ Crash, a decision that baffled at the time and has hardly made an increasing amount of sense in the subsequent years.
Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were shortlisted for their own performances in the ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Supporting Actor’ categories, respectively, but Brokeback Mountain could have starred Wahlberg instead after he met with Lee to discuss the possibility of playing one of the two lead parts.
However, his comments on the screenplay paint the picture of somebody who was never going to commit. “I met with Ang Lee on that movie, I read 15 pages of the script and got a little creeped out,” he said. “It was very graphic, descriptive – the spitting on the hand, getting ready to do the thing. I told Ang Lee, ‘I like you, you’re a talented guy, if you want to talk about it more.’”
Saying he was “creeped out” by a love scene between two men isn’t the greatest of optics, with Wahlberg also referring to Brokeback Mountain as “just not my deal”. That being said, he did clarify that he didn’t actively turn it down, suggesting that he didn’t receive a concrete offer from the filmmaker.
“The funny thing was I was basically just trying to downplay the fact that I was never offered the movie,” he explained. “I mean, I had a meeting with Ang Lee but he didn’t offer me the movie. You don’t pass up an opportunity to work with Ang Lee. I’ve been scared to do other things before because of my own insecurities but I faced them. I was just basically trying to make light of the fact that I was never offered the movie.”
According to Wahlberg, Lee didn’t think he was “good enough of an actor” to play the part anyway, and it can’t be denied Brokeback Mountain could have turned out as a much different movie were the former Funky Bunch alumni to end up headlining the cast.
