Mark Wahlberg Biography

Mark Wahlberg was born on June 5th, 1971 in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Childhood was tough for this youngest of nine. His parents divorced when he was 11 and he dropped out of school at 14 to concentrate on his career. Unfortunately his career at that time involved stealing and selling drugs. At 16, Wahlberg was convicted of beating two Vietnamese men that he was trying to steal beer from. Wahlberg denies these charges of racism. He ended up spending 45 days in jail for the attack and says that experience changed the direction of his life. He turned to acting, debuting in TV's The Substitute in 1993, and earning nods from critics for his portrayal of Dirk Diggler in 1997's 'Boogie Nights'. Late in the decade he starred with chum George Clooney in two more hits, 'Three Kings' (1999) and 'The Perfect Storm'. In 2001 he starred with Estella Warren in the Tim Burton remake of the sci-fi film 'The Planet of the Apes', in 2002 he appeared in 'The Truth About Charlie 'with Tim Robbins, and in 2003 he starred in the re-make of The 'Italian Job'. His other films include 'Rock Star' and 'I Heart Huckabees' (2004). Wahlberg is now on the short list of every producer and casting director in the business and has had the luxury of turning down projects to pursue other commitments.