Mark Wahlberg on Netflix’s The Union and being in an era of embracing new things

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Mark Wahlberg is in his embracing era, game to try new things and new roles. 

He has been in the acting business for 30 years, having played roles that range from boxer, sniper, officer and priest to navy seal and government assassin. 

The Oscar-nominated actor has always loved cinema, something he shared with his dad. But he didn’t think acting was possible until his first film.

“Acting has afforded me so many things, but really it was me finding my real passion[…] After meeting Penny Marshall [for his first film, Renaissance Man], I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I haven’t wanted to do anything else since,” says Wahlberg.

Now, at 53, his goals have slightly shifted: “I want to try to do something that’s challenging and different, but it really depends. As I get older my interests change. I’m much more comfortable with the idea of playing a dad. I would imagine, sooner rather than later, I’ll be playing a grandfather, but those things don’t bother me at all. I embrace those things,” he says.

The actor shares that he’s not holding out to play the next James Bond so he and his producing partner came up with the idea of a blue-collar James Bond — his latest role in the Netflix film The Union. 

The Boston-born actor stars as Mike, a simple construction worker living a peaceful life in New Jersey – until his long-lost high school sweetheart, Roxanne (Halle Berry), shows up and recruits Mike on a dangerous intelligence mission in Europe that thrusts them back together into a world of spies and high-speed car chases. The Union, which streams on Netflix today (August 16), also stars Mike Colter, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and J.K. Simmons.

Wahlberg also produced the film — as he has with many of his films — which has allowed him creative control and an opportunity to carve his own path in Hollywood. “I always felt like instead of waiting around for something to come to me and fall on my desk, I was pursuing roles or stories that I wanted to tell, roles that I thought I’d be good at, trying to create relationships with filmmakers, just trying to get opportunities,” says Wahlberg, “So we really started producing out of necessity to be able to create my own destiny.”

Wahlberg is certainly proactive — the actor and producer is also an entrepreneur, creating his own sports utility brand Municipal and investing in Flecha Azul Tequila and Aquahydrate. He also founded burger joint Wahlbergers and co-founded Performance Inspired, a nutrition brand. 

We spoke with Wahlberg about his career strategies, playing a blue-collar James Bond, his disciplined fitness routine while training for the film and his career highlights.

Q: It’s always entertaining watching your movies – they have the right balance of action and humour. How strategic are you with the projects you take on at this point in your career, and how did The Union fit the bill?

A: Well, we’re very strategic and very particular about the things that we commit to, but this was something that we had actually come up with on our own between myself and my producing partner, we had always said, ‘Would we ever be able to play James Bond?’ More than likely, no. So how do we create our own? We came up with this blue-collar Bond idea and people were very into it. And then, of course, Halle was the ideal choice to play Roxanne, who is worth waiting multiple decades for and he hopes to get another shot to prove that they’re meant to be. 

Q: I love seeing your comedic side, you have great comic timing – even as it’s baked into an adventure like this. What’s your equation with action-comedies?

A: Well, I try to play everything as real as possible and hopefully find some humour in the moment and you know the absurdity of the situation, but always trying to play everything realistically. 

Q: You’ve said that you try to put a little bit of yourself in the roles you play on screen – how much of yourself do we see in your character Mike?

A: I was actually just reminiscing on the first time I ever left the U.S. I went to London for a promotional tour when I started my music career, and I was completely a fish out of water. I mean, I had never eaten anything other than my mom’s cooking or my neighbourhood sub shop, so I only lasted two days. I left. I was supposed to be there for a couple of weeks. I couldn’t take it. So being there as a first-timer out of his environment. Yeah, I could definitely relate to that.

Q: Is there a characteristic of his you wish you had?

A: He’s got quite a good amount of patience, waiting 25 years, staying in his mom’s house, hoping that Halle’s character would walk back through that door. I’m not that patient. That’s for sure.

Q: Your character is close with his friends and family, but he’s afraid to step out of his comfort zone. When was the last time you felt like you stepped out of your comfort zone as an actor?

A: All the time! Having to sing, having to do some absurd things in the movie that I’m shooting now. I had to sing, dance, all the things that I don’t like doing on camera.

Q: Were there any new skills you learned as you trained for The Union?

A: No, it just reaffirmed my fear of heights. I never really had a fear of heights until I started getting older… It’s not really a fear, but it definitely makes me uncomfortable. 

Q: Your character says he has his tuxedo from high school and it still fits. Is there anything that you still own from high school or from your teenage years in Boston?

A: You know what, I probably do have some sports memorabilia, some Celtic T-shirts, basketball shirts, things of that nature. My mom kept everything, so now my sister has possession of everything.

Q: It’s the 30th anniversary of your film career. When you look back, what are some of your favourite movies you’ve done that have shaped you and perhaps made you a better actor today? 

A: Oh many, many, many., I think I would say different films at different stages of my career. I think even having the comfort in doing comedy and being out of my comfort zone. I’m not as self-conscious as I used to be, that’s for sure. From the very beginning, I mean, if you think even Renaissance Man was such a great experience. My first time out with Penny Marshall, my first film with Danny DeVito. Basketball Diaries, Fear, Boogie Nights, Three Kings, The Yards, The Perfect Storm. I mean, the list goes on and on.

Q: You prepare physically and mentally for everything you do. What was your fitness routine while training for The Union? Do you still do the cold plunges?

A: I am and I’ll tell you what, if I get out of that routine, I can really start to feel all the aches and pains coming back. It’s when I’m staying on the regimen and really disciplined that I feel better, I feel younger, I feel more fit, I feel more capable physically, but especially now getting older too. Everything really kind of revolves around longevity, because now, being on this side of 50, you have to make sure you’re prepared to, hopefully, last for a while and be able to be mobile and physical and so that that’s really at the top of the list when it comes to the priorities of training. 

Q: You trained and travelled for this role. What’s one thing that was always in your gym or travel bag?

A: You know, I’m a creature of habit, so I would always say the same things, but being able to stretch, having mobility bands, things of that nature. I have a bad back. I have some knee injuries, shoulder injuries, elbows, pretty much from head to toe. So I think being able to kind of warm up the right way, just training smart — being smart and being disciplined in it — just in my routine as a whole.

Q: What are you currently watching on Netflix?

A: I’ve mostly been watching comedy specials and things of that nature. It’s rare that I get to actually watch something while I’m working because by the time I get home from work, I’ve had a pretty full day. I usually get up about four hours before I’m supposed to go on set, so that way I can have my time for prayer, reading, training and eating and then off to work. And then by the time I do a 10-hour, 12-hour day, I’m ready for bed.

Q: Do you still carry your prayer journal with you, the one your wife gifts you for Christmas every year?

A: Absolutely. 365 days of prayer, and I’ve had it now since probably 2008 or 2009. It’s been a tradition. It’s the one thing that I know (hopefully) is going to be coming as a Christmas gift. I think I’m hard to shop for. 

The Union streams on Netflix on Friday, Aug 15.

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