Mark during his days as a rapper, when he was known as Marky Mark
The bad boy image of Mark Wahlberg on screen is close to his early life. But the star of the recent hit movie Ted has become a real family man after turning to God
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irst impressions can make a serious impact. With Mark Wahlberg, you’re looking at Hollywood’s favourite hard man who’s got the muscles to go with the role he plays on and off the screen. But the rapper turned actor – formerly known as Marky Mark – had a pretty hectic journey to reach the stardom he enjoys today. The bruiser from Boston might have found his way to fame via raucous rap and kick-ass action, but you’d be wrong to assume he’s all brawn and no brain. A renowned research junkie who immerses himself into the parts that he plays, Mark is a straight-talker and is as bright a box-office attraction as you could hope to meet. But it all began so differently. Mark, now 41, was the youngest of nine children and was only ten when his father left home. After this devastating departure, Mark became a troublemaker. Living in abject poverty in the Dorchester neighbourhood of Boston, he started experimenting with drugs and had a serious cocaine habit by the age of 13. Crime came naturally to him and street fighting and stealing cars escalated to drug dealing and robbery. Eventually, he was sentenced to serve time. “There was always a voice in my head telling me I was going to end up in jail,”
he says. “Three of my brothers had done time and my sister went to prison so many times I lost count. “Finally, I was there, locked up with the kind of guys I’d always wanted to be like. Now I’d earned my stripes and I was just like them and I realised it wasn’t what I wanted at all. I’d ended up in the worst place I could possibly imagine and I never wanted to go back. First of all I had to learn to stay on the straight and narrow.” And that’s where Christianity kicked in. Mark’s local priest, James Flavin, met the young troublemaker at 2am one morning when Mark was dealing drugs. “He was the one person who never gave up on me,” says Mark. “He was always there for me, through the good times and the bad. Back then there were more bad times than good. But he always had faith that I could change my ways. “He was the first to recognise the actor in me. Looking back I was always acting. Whether I was pulling a scam or trying to convince a judge the scam had nothing to do with me, it was all acting. I could convince my mother of anything. Even when I’d admit to something she’d say, ‘No, it must have been someone else.’ To this day my mother blames everything on anyone but me.” He might have been acting to fool his mother, but Mark’s not one to shirk
Mark with daughter Ella Rae
ABOVE: Kristin’s biography. BELOW: The singing star published a Christmas CD
Mark with wife Rhea Durham
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