Mark Wahlberg has always been vocal about his Catholic faith, and in a recent interview with “Today,” he said that he would not let Hollywood’s indifference toward religion prevent him from spreading the importance of religion. The Oscar contender added that his faith was one of the best ways he was able to develop the “discipline” he required to transition from music to cinema.
Wahlberg remarked that “that discipline has provided me so many other things.” I feel compelled to tell others about it. Thus, it is essential to devote more time to God through fasting, increased physical activity, separation from distractions, and contemplation.
What’s more, “[Faith] is everything, it’s allowed me so many things,” Wahlberg said. God didn’t send Jesus to rescue the good people. Christ came as a savior for the ungodly. Through honing my religion, I’ve been able to become the person we all aspire to be.
Wahlberg has remarked that he tries to strike a “balance” between his work as an actor and his work as a religious advocate and evangelist.
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I don’t want to force religion on anyone, but I also don’t deny my faith,” Wahlberg remarked. That’s a far worse sin, to be sure. It’s not cool to be religious in my line of work, but I can’t help being who I am. In my opinion, it’s crucial that others hear that. Friends of mine come from all walks of life and various beliefs and religions, therefore it’s vital to me to respect and honor them as well.
Wahlberg’s religious beliefs have served as inspiration in his acting. Famously, he said that playing a porn star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights” went against his Christian beliefs and that he regretted the role. Wahlberg has reportedly put up “millions and millions” of dollars of his own money to make the 2022 film “Father Stu,” a religious drama. Stuart Long, a former amateur boxer who was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, eventually became a Catholic priest, and his life is depicted in this drama.
Wahlberg said last year in Insider that he had tried to show the script to a couple of people he believed “may get it,” but they had rejected it because of their fear of religious themes in Hollywood. And of course, it’s all relative. To some extent, you can define the content based on your own intuition. The fact that he becomes sick at the end may have been a downer for others. They failed to recognize its sincerity, its depth of feeling, or, ultimately, how motivating it is.
As Wahlberg put it, “Let’s just say I poured millions and millions of dollars into the film — and then incurring other costs because we went over schedule in production.”
Wahlberg will next be seen in “Arthur the King,” alongside Simu Liu, and “Our Man from Jersey,” alongside Halle Berry.
