Mark Wahlberg: Apes and Beyond

Many of us were first acquainted with actor Mark Wahlberg when he was hip-hop artist Marky Mark or was flashing his underwear in Calvin Klein ads. He's since created memorable characters in Boogie Nights, Three Kings and The Perfect Storm. Now he's stepping into Charlton Heston's shoes (forget the loincloth) as the astronaut plunged into a simian hell in the remake of Planet of the Apes.

Mark grew up on the mean streets of a tough Boston neighborhood where he was often in trouble with the law. Now he's taking on Cary Grant's suave, sophisticated role in the Charade re-make and is headlining Rock Star. We found him to be funny, charming and ready to morph into anything.

Teenhollywood: This is a very physical part. How badly were you beaten up?

Mark: Pretty bad. You had a bunch of frustrated guys in gorilla suits who saw me coming in and out of make-up in about five minutes and having the really "cush" part so they vented. They all got a crack at me and, you know, with Tim, he really likes to have the actors in there. A lot of actors say, 'Oh, yeah, I do a lot of my own stunts. I'm cool and tough'. I'm not that guy. I don't want to do it. I personally found a stunt guy who looks exactly like me and was willing to do anything. I'd rather have him in there but, for the most part, Tim wanted us to be there. I had no choice.

Teenhollywood: What's this story we hear about you saying you would do the part only if you didn't have to wear a loincloth like Charlton Heston did?

Mark: When I met Tim (Burton) I said 'I'll do anything you want. Any part you want me for, just say the word.' I was praying that he didn't want me to be an ape and if I was going to play the astronaut role, well, Heston wore a loincloth and I would be really uncomfortable in a loincloth. I had to wait it out six long weeks before the first wardrobe fitting. I went into the room and thank God, there was just a spacesuit there. I told Tim after that I was really nervous about it. Had he known that I was so nervous there probably would only have been a loincloth in the fitting room to pull a prank on me. I would have put it on. It would have taken me an hour to come out of the room and when I stepped out the door, George Clooney would be there with a bunch of other guys taking pictures, laughing and passing them all around town.

Teenhollywood: Everything else you've done has been reality-based. What did it feel like to get into something like this?

Mark: There were a couple of panic attacks. If it weren't Tim Burton, I wouldn't have been there. I think that's the case with most people in this film. It's an opportunity to work with Tim.

Teenhollywood: You were quoted somewhere as saying you freaked out the first day.

Mark: I did. It was horrifying. I've got this kid beside me with these tribal markings all over his face. He looks like something from the original Star Wars and then this hairy foot, it had to be about that big (indicates about a foot) just big bushels of hair coming out of it and then I looked up at the guy and he's in a gorilla outfit. It was like this is not the place for me. You know, it's put me in a room with a couple of people, I mean even back on the boat with George (Clooney of The Perfect Storm) which was the last place I wanted to be but I saw Tim and that was the reassurance I needed and it worked out.

Teenhollywood: Did you bond with a few ape actors in the movie?

Mark: I tried to. I tried to befriend them all. I was willing to serve them coffee and tea just so they'd be nice to me between action and cut but it didn't work. I started giving them a hard time early on though. I'd roll in at 7:30 and ask them what time they got there and they'd say 1:45 (a.m.). I'd say, I didn't get home until 2:30. I was out all night.

Teenhollywood: Were you a fan of the original movie and did you watch it again for this?

Mark: I wasn't a huge fan. I had seen it when I was a kid and then, in preparing for this role, I went back to watch it. I asked Tim first and he said 'Well, it's not gonna hurt but it's not gonna help'. Then I was pretty amazed at how great it was and saw why so many people loved it so much. When I was a kid, me and my dad were too busy watching gangster pictures to worry about some gorilla on a horse with a gun.

Teenhollywood: So you're not a science fiction fan?

Mark: Not at all. I once vowed never to do a sci-fi movie. It doesn't interest me. I need something I can relate to. This is the first time I've ventured into that world. It was about trusting Tim. His personality is amazing. Very few people have had a profound effect on me in my life and Tim is one of them. I got beat up every day and I still couldn't wait to get to the set just to be around him. I don't even know if he likes me and I don't care. He's amazing.

Teenhollywood: How do you feel about the way Tim handled the ending?

Mark: I thought it was fantastic. I thought he dealt with the original in a good way. Everything that everybody loved is there. As far as the ending is concerned, there are several doors left open but that's intentional and I think when people go back and see it again, they'll figure it out. I know there have been huge debates about the ending which is great. The only other time I've had a film ending talked about so much was Boogie Nights.

Teenhollywood: When you first started your film career, did you think you would go this far?

Mark: Well, I did, as an actor, because, I was committed to doing the work. As far as commercial success, I never really thought about it. It was always just about trying to grow as an actor and continuing to work with interesting people and learning more and more.

Teenhollywood: I heard somewhere that there was supposed to be a love scene in the movie between you and Ari (Helena Bonham Carter's ape character). What happened to that?

Mark: Me and Tim had talked about this relationship early on before I'd even seen the script. There was potential for it to go further and I just started talking in interviews...yeah, it's hard core. I was just messing around and people started to believe it and the next thing you know, we're at the junket and they are saying why did you cut out the scene and Tim was like 'What are you talking about?' And they'd say 'Oh, yeah, Mark was talking about Helen and a love scene' and he'd say 'Well, if we shot it I wasn't there that day'. We're gonna do something like that in the sequel I think. I was rooting for her to get in the ship with me.

Teenhollywood: What was it like working with the real chimps. Can they be pretty nasty to you?

Mark: Oh, they can be very nasty. But I spent a couple of weeks with them before we started shooting and they got really close to me. They were very protective of me and then they met Helen and she smells a little bit better than I do and they turned on me and attacked me one day but they were small, about 4 or 5 years old but they're still pretty strong. There were people there to pull them off.

Teenhollywood: Here you were stepping into Charlton Heston's original role. Now with the re-make of Charade you are stepping into Cary Grant's shoes. Do you think about that?

Mark: Yes but you're talking about Jonathan Demme calling you up saying he wants you for this part. I went, I looked at the original, called him back and said 'Are you sure you want me for this part?' He said 'Yeah'. I said 'Well, you know better than I do so why not?' It was the same thing with Tim so I never really thought about the pressure. It was about the opportunity to work with the filmmakers.

Teenhollywood: Did you slip into that suave, sophisticated thing easily?

Mark: Yeah. I got to speak tons of French. When we wrapped Planet of the Apes in Hawaii, I got on a plane and I was in Paris 18 hours later on the (Charade) set. Luckily, the end of Planet of the Apes was mostly the battle so I was allowed to study French and started to prepare. Tim was cool with me doing it.

Teenhollywood: You also have Rock Star coming out. Is it supposed to be the story of "Judas Priest?"

Mark: We never use their name. It's loosely based on the Ripper Owens story. He was a kid from Akron, Ohio who was lead singer in a "Judas Priest" tribute band and he eventually became the lead singer of "Judas Priest" which is an amazing story. We have all original music and the band's name is "Steel Dragon."

Teenhollywood: Where does music fit into your career now?

Mark: Well, I don't think it does right now but you never know. I saw the President of my record company (Interscope) last week and people are always talking. I've met with a couple of interesting people, some hip hop guys.

Teenhollywood: You've said that you liked the freedom though.

Mark: Yes, but it's gonna put me in jail. Yes, I liked being a retard and (when I was performing) if I didn't want to go to the show I wouldn't go. If I wanted to go on late, whatever I wanted to do but I can't live my life like that. I need the discipline of making films. It's been a good thing.

Teenhollywood: What would you like to see happen in a sequel to this movie?

Mark: I'd like to see them (Ari and Davidson) get together but I kind of know what's supposed to happen and I can't give that away. Part of it I like a lot. I'd like the story to take certain twists. I'd only sign on if Tim's in.

Teenhollywood: You had a pretty rough youth, got in trouble a lot. How do you handle it when people ask you about it?

Mark: If it makes people uncomfortable then it makes people uncomfortable. It's a big world out there and there's a lot of stuff going on. If they don't know about it they should. Not necessarily about me but what is going on in the world. People who don't know about it are usually more privileged than the people who are dealing with it (crime) every day so maybe they should take notice and do something about it instead of living in their own perfect world. I've never tried to hide my past. I've always focused on my future. Unfortunately, in the business and the world we live in today, most people are more interested in what's gone on in my past than what's going on in the present and what I plan for the future.

Teenhollywood: Living a "real" life can help your acting. Do you take that approach?

Mark: Yes. I have to. I've learned from my experiences and my mistakes and I would have liked to have gone back and done certain things differently but it made me the person I am today. You can't live life with regrets. It will make your life miserable.

Teenhollywood: Does it amaze you how your life has turned out?

Mark: Yeah. There's a part of me that says, well, it's supposed to happen like this and it's not a big deal but when you get an opportunity to look at all the different things that I've done, the good and the bad, it's pretty amazing. I think I've done more in 20 years than most people will in a lifetime and I have a lot more to do.

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Interviewer and writer Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.