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Mark Wahlberg is an American actor who has led a historic journey from his Funky Bunch days to becoming one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors. Today, the former Marky Mark is well known for acting in several popular movies like The Fighter, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and The Departed. However, unfortunately, the actor led a harsh life in a correctional facility as a kid. He also had a short musical career with the help of his older brother, Donnie, as a rapper of the group called Funky Bunch.
Mark Wahlberg: A Notorious Kid
Mark Wahlberg was born in the family of the famous actor Robert Wahlberg and singer plus actor Donnie. However, as the younger brother, he was way more notorious than his siblings. Wahlberg dropped out of school in his early teens and developed an addiction to cocaine.
That was not all; Mark was also into theft and racially motivated conflict. Following an assault which left one victim without his sight, Mark was charged and spent 45 days in a correctional facility. It was at this point that Wahlberg claims to have turned to the Roman Catholic Church for redemption.
Mark's Short-lived Rapping Career
When Mark Wahlberg got out of the correctional faculty, his older brother Donnie or Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. took the responsibility to have Mark launched into the music industry. Donnie was already a successful singer with his popular 90s boy band known as New Kids on the Block. He wanted to use his fame to carve a space for his baby brother.
Mark had previously gained prior experience as a member of Donnie's band itself, but later, he moved out of this venture to create his own. The result was the birth of Mark Wahlberg's stage identity called Marky Mark and his rapping band called the Funky Bunch.
The debut album of Marky Mark and the Funky was called Music for the People. The song 'Good Vibrations' became a major hit from his album. Although, his musical career was short-lived. When Rolling Stone termed him and the Funky Bunch as the worst performers in 1992, it swiftly ended their musical career.
Becoming one of Hollywood's Highest-Paid Actors
Fans had put the racism and possible homophobic tendencies of Mark Wahlberg in the past when he launched himself as Marky Mark. However, his dark side started manifesting all over again, about the same time that his music career was ending.
Mark Wahlberg wanted to deal with this bad phase of life strategically and with poise. He could put his rapping days behind himself and move on to an acting career with some difficulty. He even got into a cold war with famous rapper Eminem over Funky Bunch, but that fight is now reported to be settled between the two of them.
He took to modeling and soon became a popular face in the transition period between his dying music career and future acting career. He worked as a model for Calvin Klein and soon was on People Magazine's 50 most Beautiful Faces list.
Wahlberg had his big break in Hollywood when his charming looks caught the attention of the famous director Scott Kalvert. The result was receiving a side role alongside all-time Hollywood star Leonardo di Caprio in the favorite movie, The Basketball Diaries. The following year in 1996, he acted in the film called Fear.
In 1997, his acting career experienced a significant boom with his performance in the movie Boogie Nights. Mark Wahlberg did enjoy the attention he was receiving from the time he acquired fame as a Calvin Klein model. However, he was hesitant as this movie was an exploration of the porn industry in the 1970s. It was still a significant success point for Wahlberg. It earned him a mind-blowing $43 million back in the day and was critically acclaimed.
Following this, Mark acted in several movies. In some of them, he became renowned for co-starring besides George Clooney. These movies would include The Perfect Storm and Three Kings. He also acted in the Planet of the Apes and The Italian Job.
Mark Wahlberg eventually moved to the producing industry, and he made his debut with a show called Entourage featuring his journey in the Hollywood industry. The level of diversification of Mark Wahlberg's career expands to him founding a chain of restaurants called the Wahlburgers.
Life has been a roller coaster ride for Mark Wahlberg, currently one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors. Some remarkable factors about Mark Walberg are finishing high school at the age of 42 years. He has an impressive net worth of about $350 million in 2021.
Source: Business Insider, Biography.com, Goliath, Forbes
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