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Mark Wahlberg was once famous as a model and a rapper. Today, he is best known as a Hollywood actor who might be familiar to many of you. He is very popular and has millions of fans. Although, not many people know that this well-known actor has a dark criminal past.
In his case, however, it was not just petty crimes, but drugs and racially motivated attacks and even attempted murder. Today, it’s all just a dark memory, from which Mark finally managed to get out. He changed his life, tried to pay his debt to society and became a much better person. How did he do it?
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A thirteen-year-old child addicted to cocaine
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg was born on June 5, 1971 in Boston. He has 9 siblings, of whom he is the youngest. His mother, Alma Elaine, was a bank clerk, and his father, Donald, was working as a van driver. Mark’s childhood was not easy, and the troubled boy quickly found his way to drugs.
We often see 13-year-olds trying to smoke cigarettes for the first time. However, at that age, Mark Wahlberg was already addicted to hard drugs, specifically cocaine. A year later, he dropped out of school, and all of this was just a humble beginning of his criminal past. During puberty, his name became known to the Boston Police Department, where he had more than 25 records.
Accused of racially motivated assault and attempted murder
Drugs were not even close to being the worst thing in Mark’s life. With them, hand in hand, went horrible racially motivated attacks. When he was 15, he and a group of friends chased three African Americans, throwing stones at them and shouting racist slurs.
He was found guilty of this attack for violating the human rights of his victims. In addition, the court banned him from attacking, threatening or intimidating anyone on the grounds of race or nationality. But that didn’t stop young Mark either.
An even worse incident took place two years later, when Wahlberg attacked two Vietnamese men while being under the influence of drugs. During the attack, he shouted racist slurs at them and beat them with a wooden stick. He beat one of them unconscious. In this case, Mark Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder. At the end, the court found him guilty only of assault. Due to the previous court ban on attacking other nationalities or races in any way, the whole incident was considered contempt of court. The result was a prison sentence of 2 years. However, in the end, Wahlberg served only 45 days.
The decision to change his life brought him back to music
During his days in prison, young Mark realised that he was wasting his life. He therefore decided to change and become a respectable member of society. Trying to break free from his criminal past brought him back to music. Mark’s brother Donnie had a successful boy band called New Kids On The Block. He himself was one of its founding members, but at the time he was drawn more towards his criminal activities. After his release from prison, he returned to New Kids On The Block, which he later left, and together with his friends he formed a hip hop group called Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
Their debut album was called Music For The People (1991) and was quite a big success. He was number one in the Top Heatseekers and 21st in the Billboard 200. This success was accompanied by his own video game called Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch: Make My Video. One of the most famous songs on this album was Good Vibration.
In the music video to this song, Wahlberg showed his fit body, thanks to which he also shone as a model for the prestigious Calvin Klein. The model’s career also revealed Mark’s little secret. He has three nipples, and the third of them had to be removed from campaign photos for aesthetic reasons using Photoshop.
Band break-up and the path to acting
A year later, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch tried to build on the success of their first album. They released You Gotta Believe (1992), which was rather disappointing. The band later broke up, which led young Mark to acting. He made his debut in the television film The Substitute (1993), where he played under his hip hop name Marky Mark. A year later, he played a minor role in a war comedy called Renaissance Man, starring Danny DeVito.
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He didn’t get any other significant opportunity until 1996, when he played the villain David McCall in the thriller Fear. Mark Wahlberg has had dozens of films since 1993, of which The Departed (2006) is definitely worth mentioning. It was directed by the acclaimed Martin Scorsese, and Wahlberg himself was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his role. He did the same with The Fighter (2011), but even in this case he did not turn the nominations into a win.
Regret and the pardon application
The popular actor does not have good memories on his criminal youth. He has made it clear several times that he regrets everything he did at that time. In 2014, he applied for a pardon. This is a government exception that allows the accused person to get rid of some or all of the legal consequences of a criminal sentence. This pardon may be granted before or after the court ruling. Wahlberg himself asked for a pardon on the grounds that he was very young at the time of these crimes.
In addition, his behaviour was influenced by bad friends, drugs and alcohol. He also pointed out his current successful acting career, as well as other activities he engages in. These include working with troubled teenagers, philanthropic support, charity support and successful entrepreneurship. All this is to prove that the actor really changed his life. He also claims that he has apologized many times for his actions and that he has already repaid his debt to the society. In addition, he continues to try to do various good deeds to make up for the mistakes of his past.
The victims are traumatized to this day
However, the victims of Wahlberg’s crimes see it differently, including Kristyn Atwood, at the time, a young black student. Currently, an adult woman does not think the famous actor should be pardoned. She claims that his current position does not give him any exception for the acts he has committed. She still sees him as a racist, and she doesn’t think a pardon would be appropriate. Furthermore, she remembers the incident with great fear, and although she was not seriously injured, she still has a scar after being hit by a stone.
However, the teacher who witnessed Wahlberg’s actions that day disagrees with Kristyn Atwood. According to her, everyone deserves a second chance. She believes in forgiveness, and she saw Mark only as a bad child who grew up in the bad streets of Boston and did nothing but imitate the behaviour of his bad friends.
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Wahlberg’s quest for the pardon met with sharp public criticism. His application was rejected and he regretted its submission. That is why he did not file an appeal and the whole case is closed. However, he is grateful that the reopening of the trial allowed him to meet one of the victims, whom he apparently asked for forgiveness in person.
Millions of fans and passion for exercise
Mark Wahlberg has gained millions of fans after the change in his life. For example, his instagram is followed by more than 17 million people. In addition to his acting roles, he is also known for his active lifestyle and passion for exercise. In one of his houses, he had a fully equipped boxing ring, and there always has to be a gym in Wahlberg’s home.
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Exercise has a special place in his day-to-day life. After a workout, he has a light breakfast, containing mainly oatmeal, peanut butter and protein shake. Mark is used to training for an hour to an hour and a half, focusing on the full-body workout. His favourite post-workout dishes include grilled chicken or turkey meat or beef with vegetables.
An extreme daily routine including two-phase training, which starts at half past three in the morning
Mark Wahlberg also gained respect with his extreme daily routine, which he published in 2018. His day begins at half past three in the morning. Because of his religion, he devotes 30 minutes to prayer after hygiene. About half an hour after breakfast, he devotes an hour and a half to exercise. Then there is another meal, shower, golf and a snack.
He then spends some time regenerating in the form of cryotherapy. It is very popular amongst athletes who use it to relieve muscle and joint pain.
This is followed by another snack and 2 hours of time which is devoted to his family, meetings or work calls. Then he has an hour set aside for lunch, which is alternated by another meetings or phone calls. At 3pm he has to pick up his children from school, followed by another snack, second training, shower and dinner. In his schedule, dinner takes up two hours of his time, as it is another part of the day which he spends with his family.
That’s where Mark Wahlberg’s day ends, and he goes to bed at 7:30 just so he can go through this routine again.
He sacrificed his athletic body to the role of a former obese boxer
In 2021, Wahlberg’s extreme routine is a thing of the past. He was preparing for a role in his new movie Stu, which demanded a slightly different transformation. He plays a retired boxer who became a priest, and his role required him to gain weight quickly. Not only that, but he also published his transformation on Instagram, where he also thanked the chef, who took care of his caloric intake. Mark’s task for the job was to gain about 13 pounds and switch from 2,000 to 7,000 calories intake. His diet allegedly consisted of eight meals.
It was set up so that Mark would not go to extremes like his colleague Christian Bale, but to gain weight in the healthiest way possible. He ate roughly every 3 hours and his diet was full of complex carbohydrates, protein and a lot of eggs. After two weeks with a daily intake of 7,000 kcal, the actor went into the second phase, where his intake increased to 11,000 kcal over the following two weeks. Wahlberg himself was excited about these plans at first, because he could finally indulge in whatever he wanted. But later he said that it was fun for just a little while because receiving such amount of calories wasn’t easy at all.
Private life in the spirit of a happy marriage and four children
In his private life, Wahlberg is happily married to American model Rhea Durham. She appeared on the covers of several prestigious fashion magazines, including Vogue and Elle. They met back in 2001, and Mark claims that meeting Rhea allowed him to believe in love again. They have two daughters, Ella and Grace, and also two sons, Brendan and Michael.
However, Mark Wahlberg’s luck didn’t include just his amazing family. He bought a ticket for a plane that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11. It was one of the most tragic terrorist attacks in US history. However, Wahlberg changed his mind at the last minute and instead rented a plane with his friends for a film festival in Toronto, Canada. Today, he can be glad that he survived.
Controversial statements on the situation on September 11
On the other hand, his statements at the expense of this situation came under fire of criticism. He said that if he was on board of this plane, he would defeat the terrorists and none of this would happen. According to him, there would be a lot of blood in the cabin, but the plane would land safely somewhere. However, he later regretted these statements and admitted that speculating about this tragic event was out of place. He acknowledged that his statements sounded as if the passengers on the plane were irresponsible and did not try to prevent anything. He apologized deeply to the victims and assured them that he did not want to sound disrespectful.
What is your opinion on this famous American actor? Do you think that because he changed his life, he deserves forgiveness for the mishaps from when he was young? Would you be able to train and follow the daily routine the way he does? If you liked the article, don’t forget to share it with your friends.
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[2] Mark Wahlberg Biography – https://sportytell.com/biography/anthony-joshua-biography-facts-childhood-personal-life/
[3] Frank Pallotta - How Mark Wahlberg Went From High-School Dropout To Hollywood's Top Tough Guy – https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-wahlberg-biography-2014-6
[4] EXPERIENCE OVER NINE DECADES OF THE OSCARS FROM 1927 TO 2021 – https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2007
[5] Mark Wahlberg harassment victim says actor should not be pardoned – https://sportytell.com/biography/anthony-joshua-biography-facts-childhood-personal-life/
[6] Mark Wahlberg reveals gruelling daily regimen – https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45497348
[7] Jordyn Taylor - Mark Wahlberg's Insane Workout Schedule Starts at 2:30. In the Morning – https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a23100396/mark-wahlberg-workout-schedule-instagram/
[8] Gabby Landsverk - Mark Wahlberg said it was 'not fun' eating 11,000 calories a day for 2 weeks to prepare for his upcoming film – https://www.insider.com/mark-wahlberg-high-calorie-diet-new-role-film-stu-2021-7
[9] Michael Charr - Here's How Mark Wahlberg And His Wife Keep The Romance Alive – https://www.thethings.com/mark-wahlberg-wife-relationship-facts/