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Into the Future – The Fighter: Mark Wahlberg’s spent a year training to play the part of boxer Mickey Ward in The Fighter. “I’ve got some more training ahead of me but I think to do what I want to do with this movie, and what I think other boxing movies haven’t been able to really capture, is the believability of being a champion,” explained Wahlberg. “And like Invincible, we want to go in there and make it real and take some hits. We certainly want to do Mickey justice. He’s certainly one of my favorite fighters. I think he had more heart than anybody else and that’s really what it’s about. It’s about his heart so I’ve got to go in there and take a couple.”
Ward fought in the welter weight class but Walhberg isn’t planning on dropping down to that weight. “I’ve already lost 30 pounds,” said Wahlberg. “I don’t have to get down to his actual size. Obviously you just cast people the same size as me and it’ll be fine, but it’s been tough. The first 8 months were really fun and then we started working so I had to get up at 4:30 to go to the gym at 5 to be back for a 7 o’clock pick up. That gets a little rough after a while.”
Wahlberg’s The Departed co-star Matt Damon was originally scheduled to co-star in The Fighter but he stepped down. Wahlberg doesn’t know why Damon opted out of the film. “I haven’t spoken to him since. It was something that Brad [Pitt] originally wanted to do before Matt was involved,” revealed Wahlberg. “Schedules and a whole bunch of stuff, but I know how excited Brad was to get another opportunity to make this movie and play that part.”
It’s extremely important to Wahlberg that they get the boxing footage right. “I’ve seen every boxing movie ever made. I’m also a huge fight fan. I fought a little bit when I was younger. Nobody in my opinion, and some of the greatest movies ever made – you talk Raging Bull and Rocky I saw 30 times – but the fighting just wasn’t as realistic as what we hope to achieve and accomplish in this movie. You got to get in there and take it. I talked to Brad and he wants to do the same thing so I’m excited about that.”
Wahlberg is doing everything he can to accurately portray Mickey Ward. “Me and Mickey have been friends for quite some time. I actually was in Miami while he was training Gatti for his last fight against Alfonso Gomez. I spent the week down there with those guys. I speak to Mickey a couple times a week. Obviously he wants to know what’s happening. ‘Is the movie going to happen or not?’ But you know, the guy has more heart than anybody I’ve ever seen step into the ring and more will and more determination. That’s why I have to be able to deliver, you know, day in and day out during the course of making the movie. I’m excited about it. I’m glad that all the other boxing movies that I tried to do fell apart. I really feel like you should only do it once and who better than to get to play Mickey Ward.”
Other Possible Film Projects: Wahlberg talked about the rumors he’s attached to star in the remake of Sharky’s Machine. “Sharky’s Machine was something that was just an interesting idea, but it’s all about the script now. I don’t care about the title or the concept or the filmmaker so much, it’s really about the material. I don’t see that movie happening anytime in the future.”
Same goes for the Italian Job sequel. “Again, until they can get the script in better shape than the original, it’s just not worth doing. Same with The Departed, for that matter. I think William Monaghan’s writing a script. But like I said, if you can do something better than the original, then it’s worth it. If not, then there’s plenty of other ways to go make a bad movie and get a paycheck for it. I just want to try to do some interesting things. I don’t want to go back to the well unless it’s going to really be satisfying.”
Looking Back on the Oscar Buzz: “It was fun,” said Wahlberg. “It got a little tedious toward the end. You put the suit on again and your feet start hurting. You go from this thing to that thing. But it was nice just to see how proud my parents were. I’d never been to the ceremony so it was nice. Seeing Marty [Scorsese] win, of course, was great. Got a lot of nice gifts. Jack [Nicholson] sent me a beautiful bottle of champagne and a letter congratulating me as well. It was nice. It was really nice. I wasn’t expecting it, that’s for sure, being with that kind of cast and that kind of movie. So it was definitely a nice surprise.”
