Summary

• Leonardo DiCaprio recommended Mark Wahlberg for his villain role in Fear.
• Despite initial skepticism, director James Foley gave Wahlberg a shot in Fear, leading to his successful acting career.
• Wahlberg's career took off in the mid-90s with back-to-back films showcasing his acting skills.

Mark Wahlberg explains how he got his key role in 1996’s Fear. Wahlberg played David McCall, a man whose affection towards a woman becomes an obsession in the psychological drama. Fear is directed by James Foley, written by Christopher Crowe, and features a leading cast of Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen, Amy Brenneman, and Alyssa Milano.

Speaking with Josh Horowitz, Wahlberg explains how he got his role in Fear.

According to the actor, it was Leonardo DiCaprio who recommended Wahlberg to director Foley. Because Wahleberg had not acted, Foley thought “are you out of your mind?” in reaction to DiCaprio. Nonetheless, Foley agreed to meet with Wahlberg, and the two became fast friends. Intending to give him a shot at a smaller part, Foley had Wahlberg read for the lead role, and Foley ended up insisting that the studio hire Wahlberg. Check out the full quote from Wahlberg below:

We [Leonardo DiCaprio and I] became fast friends. And then to the point where he was recommending me to Foley for Fear. And Foley was like ‘what?’ And he was like ‘I know it sounds crazy, but you know the guy Marky Mark?’ And he’s like ‘yeah!’ He’s like ‘we just did this movie together.’ And he’s like ‘what, are you out of your mind?’ And he’s like ‘no no, he’d be really good for this part.’ So anyone, cut to me and Foley hanging out for 8 hours and he’s like ‘ah, I could never give you this part, you know, I really liked hanging out with you, is it okay if we can still be friends?’ I’m like ‘dude, I only hung out with you because I liked you, I mean the formality of the meeting was over within 45 minutes, and we just decided to go and hang out. So all good. It’s your movie, do your thing.’

And he felt bad, he wanted to give me an audition for one of the smaller roles. But it wasn’t really enough lines to see what somebody could do, so he just told me to read a scene with the lead. And next thing I know he was like ‘whoah.’ He calls the studio and he’s like ‘listen, if you don’t give Mark Wahlberg this part, I’m not doing the movie.’ And I had never in a movie before. Cut to Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are like ‘oh my god, well we never hired anybody without at least meeting.’ So, I got the offer subject to a meeting. And I was in Germany performing. Cut to our road manager leaves our passports in the safe, we miss the flight, we miss the reading. I was like ‘oh my god, we were supposed to do like just a table read at Grazer’s house.’ And then it was like, finally I was able to smooth that over.

Mark Wahlberg’s Career Evolution Explained

Though Wahlberg was not a film actor at the time, he was a known entity in the ‘90s. At the age of 20, Wahlberg became a part of the hip-hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Shortly after, he also rose to notoriety for his 1992 ad for Calvin Klein. Given his background, Foley’s surprised reaction to DiCaprio’s acting recommendation makes sense.

The mid-'90s completely changed Wahlberg’s career, as they saw the actor star in three back-to-back films: Renaissance Man, The Basketball Diaries, and Fear. All three films showed the depth of Wahlberg’s acting skills, which was followed by his acclaimed role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Now, Wahlberg is a two-time Oscar-nominated actor (for The Departed and The Fighter) and is considered an A-list star.

Wahlberg has a vast range in his work, acting in everything from serious drama to action films like Uncharted, Spenser Confidential, and Mile 22. Wahlberg’s upcoming role will be in Arthur the King, where the actor plays an adventurer who teams up with his beloved dog. Wahlberg may not have been believed in at first, but in the years since, he has certainly proven himself as an actor.

Fear is available to stream on Netflix.

Source: Josh Horowitz/YouTube