To say Mark Wahlberg has had a good twelve months is like saying Helen Mirren got some awards for acting this year. He produced a career-best performance opposite the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon in Scorcese’s triumphant The Departed, and with an Oscar nomination now in the bag, the critically plaudits have been rolling in. Mark Wahlberg’s time is now. Need proof? Look no further than the Odeon West End, which tonight is playing host to the premiere of his new action-thriller, **Shooter. **
As Bob Lee Swagger, Wahlberg is forced out of sharp-shooting retirement and back into covert military service, only to face a barrage of corruption and back-stabbing that leaves him fighting to expose his enemies and clear his name.
When asked to describe Shooter, the actor said: “Well, it’s been compared to Rambo, but I think Shooter is much more verbal and much more complex. If you remember, he [Stallone] only said about two things in the entire movie. Then he just cried the whole time. I have to say, I didn’t watch the film in preparation for this movie, but I did watch it afterwards – it’s cool. I just hope that Shooter will stand the test of time like Rambo.”
To get in shape both physically and mentally, Wahlberg had to go through an intensive training programme, that seems to have left a mark on, erm, Mark: “I didn’t like the training at all. I act like I’m going to like it, but I’m pretty lazy. It was very intense. You’re with real Marines and they like to push you around, but I always like to be as real as possible in the part. It’s the only way to satisfy the audience.”
Before being rushed into the theatre to join director Antoine Fuqua (stay tuned to Empire for more from the man behind the camera) and one or two token Big Brother contestants, Wahlberg had a few things to say about his future project The Fighter: “We just want to get the script as good as possible,” revealed the actor when discussing his upcoming boxing-duties in the movie: “But I’m training now, hoping that the movie’s going to come together – hence the complaints about training! But hopefully we’ll shoot here and play out the Shane Levy/Mickey Ward fight. Should be great.”
Shooter bolts into cinemas on April 13.