While some Oscar nominees seem to come out of nowhere, Mark Wahlberg seems to come out of everywhere. Having made rap music, underwear ads and a fleet of movies, some first-rate (“Boogie Nights”), some not (“The Italian Job”), he seldom has made less than a large impression. This year, he also comes out of a movie that attracted a swirl of Academy Award speculation, even if no one was sure about whom.
It might be Leonardo DiCaprio. It might be Matt Damon.
“And Jack, too,” Wahlberg said of co-star Nicholson. “You got to include Jack. And they were all arguably leads in the movie. But it’s an ensemble thing. And we were all there really supporting Marty anyway.” Marty is, of course, Scorsese, who may finally get the one director’s prize that has eluded him since … forever. “If it doesn’t happen now …,” Wahlberg said, trailing off, then adding, “I can’t imagine it not.” Of his own nomination, he says, he’s excited. “Oh definitely, definitely.
It’s been fun. I certainly didn’t expect it, so it was a great surprise.
To be included? To be invited? Best of times.” He, like Damon, is from Boston, as are all the characters in Scorsese’s bloody tale of betrayal and intrigue – including Wahlberg’s detective Dignam, the miserable, abusive antagonist of both DiCaprio’s Billy Costigan and Damon’s Colin Sullivan. “I thoroughly enjoyed being able to attack those guys,” Wahlberg said. “They couldn’t do anything, or say anything back.”
Getting the accent down wasn’t a problem, either. “It was certainly in my comfort zone,” the Dorchester, Mass.-born Wahlberg said. “And I’ve got a lot of experience with the cops back home, so … it was nice to be back in the ‘hood. Me and Matt were joking that we spent so much time and effort losing our Boston accents, we both really didn’t want to play Boston guys. But the strongest roles that we’ve had have been guys from Boston.”
