Mark Wahlberg thinks about his future.
The experienced actor, producer and entrepreneur sat down with us Cigar lover to cover the publication’s September/October issue, in which he opens up to Marvin R. Shanken about his past, present and future business pursuits. Strikingly, the 52-year-old blockbuster star is wondering how much longer he can be in front of cameras.
“Well, I’m definitely working harder than ever now. Certain companies, you build them, pass them on or you leave them. Hopefully, my kids, we’ll see what their interests are, but I don’t think I’ll stay at the pace I’m at for as long,” he explains, referring to his four children with wife Rhea Durham. “That’s for sure. Because that’s the hardest part.”
That pace led to a string of recent films on the acting side, including Me Time, Father Stu, Uncharted, Infinite, Joe Bell And Spenser Confidential and upcoming titles such as Arthur de Koning, The Union, The Family Plan, Flight Risk And The six billion dollar man. During the wide-ranging conversation, Wahlberg spoke about family, faith and how creating his own opportunities as a producer helped him diversify his Hollywood resume.
“I became a producer out of necessity,” he says. “I didn’t want to sit around and wait for Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, or whoever was established before me who were the guys at the time, and Leo (DiCaprio) to pass on a movie until I could get my hands on the movie. It. I was always proactive in finding materials and things that I could produce, that I knew were good for me, to create my own destiny.”
On that note, Wahlberg admits that he can continue to develop his talents by jumping into the director’s chair by “working with some of the other great talents,” including the next generation. In the meantime, he is busy building his empire, which also includes the tequila brand Flecha Azul.
Fans of his past filmography may appreciate what he had to say about playing porn performer Dirk Diggler in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 film. Boogie nights. “When I first heard about the film, the subject did not appeal to me. I came out of the whole Marky Mark thing, pulling down my pants, Calvin Klein underwear — I didn’t know if this was just the next level of exploitation of me and now suddenly we have to get rid of the underwear,” he recalls. “My officers kept putting pressure on me. So I read the first 25, 30 pages and kind of put it down. I thought this could be a great thing, or this could be absolutely terrible.
