Few people have had as successful, turbulent, and at times as controversial a career as Mark Wahlberg. In the span of a decade, he went from being an unknown rapper to one of the most popular actors in Hollywood.
Below are 10+ cool things about Mark Wahlberg that fans didn't know. Get ready to feel some "Good Vibrations" as we explore the unknown side of Marky Mark.
Whether it's for his acting skills, his side businesses or because of his past drama, we all know a little bit about the star.
While there are a lot of darker details about the star, we're going to try and keep it light and fluffy!
Let's get into it!
A "normal day" in the life of Mark Wahlberg would put the average person to shame.
By the time most of us are getting out of bed, Mark's already completed his second workout of the day.
Being a native of the greater Boston area, Mark bleeds football.
He was in attendance for Superbowl LI, a game where New England pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in all of sports history!
At the end of the first half, the New England Patriots were losing to the Atlanta Falcons 28-3. Absolutely nobody, including Mark, thought that they had a chance.
He supposedly left to take care of his son who wasn't feeling well.
If he was that upset at the half, can you imagine how upset he must have been at the end of the game?
I get parents loving their children and blah, blah, blah, but I can tell you without a shred's worth of shame that if my son did that to me, I would never forgive him.
What a lot of people forget is that Mark Wahlberg began his career as Marky Mark. He was a rapper and his backing band was called The Funky Bunch.
I'm not embarrassed to say that I've been known to boogie to "Good Vibrations" every now and again.
Ouch. That has to hurt. Oh well, you know what they say about doors closing and windows opening. In the end, it all worked out for the best.
Mark's older brother, Donnie, was a founding member of one of the most popular boy bands of the '80s: New Kids on the Block.
Remember the band that DJ and Kimmy were obsessed with on Full House? That's them!
Mark was an executive producer on the show and made several cameo appearances over the course of the series.
According to Wahlberg, Ari Gold's famous "deny til you die" line was actually his motto.
Mark has distant family ties to none other than Madonna!
He's also a few generations removed from being related to the French-Canadian singing icon, Celine Dion.
Can you imagine if the three of them made a song together?!
Wahlburgers is a family-owned restaurant in Massachusetts, run by Mark's older brother, Paul.
They even made a reality TV show about the inner-workings of the restaurant called Wahlburgers. It ran for ten seasons and aired 95 episodes!
As you can see from the video, both Mark and Will Ferrell are masters of dad humor.
Although the score definitely isn't in his favor, I still think Mark held his own.
When he called Will Ferrell "a poor man's Mike Myers" I actually thought that was pretty clever.
There aren't many who can contend with the wit of Will Ferrell, but Mark does an admirable job.
Mark never forgot where he came from, much less the woman who raised him.
To thank his mother for her continued sacrifices over the years, he bought her a $5 million mansion.
Mark was actually booked to fly on one of the two planes that crashed into the Twin Towers on 9/11.
At the last minute, Mark decided to charter a plane to Toronto instead.
Mark has stated in past interviews that he's had countless dreams replaying the scenario in his mind.
"We certainly would have tried to do something to fight. I've had probably over 50 dreams about it."
He is the youngest of nine children, and as a result of that he was often bullied by his older brothers: “and when I walked out my door – violence is also all that was there.”
“In the circumstances where I was being preyed upon, at times, I had to protect and defend myself. It’s not an easy thing to navigate as a teenage kid who’s 5ft 2in, 120lb, with grown men.”
"I also prided myself on doing the right thing and turning my life around. Whether I found myself venturing off into Hollywood and a music career, or working a 9-to-5 job as a construction worker, whatever path I was going to take, I was going to do the right thing."
"The most effective thing is being engaged in every aspect of their life, but then also leading by example. It’s one thing to talk about it, but it’s another thing to do it. When my kids see me go to church everyday, when they see me get on my hands and my knees… they [can see] and know how grateful I am and how appreciative I am."
"But sometimes you have to just get down to old-fashioned discipline too. It’s important to be involved and communicate with them and make sure they can trust you, and share with you, and rely on you. They need to count on you to be there," he said.
He wants to make sure that no matter what happens to him, he will always have a job as long as he will need it.
It's why he makes sure to work hard both as an actor and for his side businesses.
“You leave no stone unturned. You don’t leave anything to chance. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But if you’ve given it your all, then you feel good about the effort.”
“Everything good that has happened to me in my life, whether it’s meeting my wife or the births of my children, happened when I started focusing on my faith,” he said. “I sound like I’m in the recruiting office, don’t I? Here, I’ve got some brochures for you.”
When speaking to Task & Purpose magazine, he went into detail about how he felt about the matter. He believes that celebrities live in their own bubble.
“A lot of celebrities did, do, and shouldn’t [talk politics],” he said.
“A lot of Hollywood is living in a bubble. They’re pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing for their family.”
He isn't a super big fan of being alone, which explains his entourage and the need to be around people.
It probably stems from the fact that he grew up in such a large family!
Or were you pleasantly surprised by most of these facts? Which one was your favorite to learn?
Let us know down below in the comments! We'd love to hear from you!
