NEW YORK — A little more than 20 years ago, Boston rapper Marky Mark had the No. 1 song in the nation with his dance hit “Good Vibrations.” The Calvin Klein model parlayed his success into a string of mostly action movies and even was nominated for Academy Awards for his roles in “The Departed” and “The Fighter.”
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Mark Wahlberg also is a successful producer, with TV series such as “Entourage,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “In Treatment,” as well as numerous films. In his new movie, “Contraband,” he is both the producer and star.
Q: You seem to be as busy behind the camera as you are in front of it. Is that an intentional transition?
A: I like doing a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff because it allows me more time to spend with my family. If I succeed in business but fail at being a father or husband, it’s all been for nothing. So, I try to balance it. It’s still tough, though, because this kind of work takes you away from your family for long periods of time, and, for me, being a parent is my most important role. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect and provide for my family.
Q: With all of your success, you seem to be pretty normal and grounded. From where does that come?
A: Well, I come from the real world, and I’m always prepared to go back. I’d actually like to be invited back there if I had to. I have people around me that keep me grounded. My mother’s the first one to slap me down if I get out of line.
You have to understand that I’m the youngest of nine kids. I had to establish myself physically at an early age. And I continued to impose my physical will on some of my older siblings, for probably too long. Actually, it was my mother that pulled me aside and said, “Why are you continuing to push your brother around in front of his wife and kids? Stop it already. You’re 30, he’s 36 … what are you doing?”
Q: What was life like for you after the awards frenzy of “The Fighter” last year? Was that completely insane?
A: Yeah, it was crazy because we were shooting this movie at the same time, so literally every weekend we were going home for another awards ceremony or another event or party. It was definitely nice to be included in all that, but it was nice to get it over with, too, and to kind of get back to reality. It’s tough when you’re trying to shoot a movie and, on the Sunday night after the awards thing, you fly back for 6 o’clock in the morning calls.
Q: Do you regret the Marky Mark days that helped establish you?
A: No. Everything happens for a reason. It’s not my favorite part of my career. It’s not something I want my children being exposed to. It is what it is. I had to do what I had to do.
Travel expenses paid for by Universal Pictures and WGN-TV. Watch my interviews 4 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday on WGN-Ch. 9 Morning News. My radio show airs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays on WGN-AM 720 and wgnradio.com. You can also go to wgntv.com/deanslist.