Mark Wahlberg is opening up about being “a little pissed” during the making of Martin Scorsese’s 2006 Boston mobster movie The Departed.
Wahlberg earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role as Sergeant Dignam of the Massachusetts State Police. His character chooses Leonardo DiCaprio’s Billy Costigan to go undercover to infiltrate the Irish mob, run by Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello. But Wahlberg says he was originally “supposed to play another part” — which is one of multiple reasons that he was “pissed” during filming, he says on a March 14 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
Mark Wahlberg on Being ‘A Little Pissed’ About The Departed
“I was a little pissed about a couple things but look, it all worked out in the end, I think,” Wahlberg says. “Originally I was supposed to play another part. Originally, I was supposed to get paid.”
He did not explain any further details about payment for the movie, which won the Oscar for best picture and scored Scorsese the Oscar for best director. Other cast of The Departed includes Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Kevin Corrigan.
Wahlberg continued: “And then even when we kind of agreed that I would play Dignam and I saw the advantages of playing that part and how I would approach the situation with everybody else playing opposite me, I then had another movie after. I was trying to grow my hair out, which is why I had that weird hair. You know, everybody’s like, what was that wig about? I was like, it was not a wig, I was just trying to grow my hair for the next film.”
The actor had just filmed the 2005 John Singleton crime movie Four Brothers before The Departed, and was leaving to shoot Disney football movie Invincible after.
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Looking back, Wahlberg says, he understands Scorsese’s point of view more.
“I completely understand where Marty was coming from. He had to deal with Jack, he had to deal with Matt and Leo and Alec and everything in the studio and everybody else who was in the cast and then I was supposed to be in and out in five weeks,” he says. “And so I went off to go and shoot Invincible, got my hair extensions, came back and then they were like, oh you gotta take out the extensions. I was like, [this] shit took eight hours. I’m not gonna take this out. We had a couple of issues.”
Representatives for Scorsese did not immediately respond to MovieMaker‘s request for comment Monday.
Now, Wahlberg says he’s glad he played the part of Dignam.
“Ultimately, I think when I read that particular role, I was like, okay, this is, this is a good role,” he says. “This is an opportunity for me to really kind of go off and have some fun for me. Originally, I was just thinking, okay, we gotta make this as realistic and credible as possible. It’s Boston, it’s gangster shit. You don’t see too many of that, those movies. And I was thinking kind of broad big picture, not necessarily my own individual goals or even the opportunity for me as an actor. And then when I read the part again, I was like, okay, there’s, there’s something here.”
As for how much he cares about accolades like Oscar nominations, Wahlberg says recognition is nice but it’s not the most important thing to him.
“Look, you want the movie to be recognized, you want to be recognized — it helps the ultimate success of the film,” he says. “I think it enhances the box office quite a bit, especially if you have a movie coming out at that time of year, but it’s not as high on the priority list as it used to be. Let’s just say that.”
Main Image: Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg in The Departed, Warner Bros.
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