Mark Wahlberg is opening up about experiencing fame at an early age and how it cut into some of the pivotal experiences teenagers and young adults go through, particularly college.
The 52-year-old actor and entrepreneur spoke with Entertainment Tonight to promote his upcoming film The Family Plan with Michelle Monaghan.
Mark and wife Rhea Durham, who have been married since 2009, are the parents of daughters Ella, 20, and Grace, 13, and sons Michael, 17, and Brendan, 15.
He spoke to ET about visiting Ella at Clemson University back in September for Parents’ Weekend, and gushed: “It was nuts! Parents’ weekend was incredible.”
He revealed that he and Ella had even crashed a frat party together, adding: “They were having the most fun I’ve ever seen anybody have, ever! Even more than her coming to Vegas. I was at the frat house and, you know, a couple of spots in town.”
When asked whether he felt his career path would’ve been any different had he gone to college instead of breaking into the entertainment industry, Mark joked: “I’d still be in college!”
“I would still be at the frat house. I’d be a 25th year senior,” he quipped, to which his co-star Michelle added: “The grandfather, the patriarch of the fraternity!”
Mark jokingly replied: “Oh, that’s actually another movie idea right there! You just gave me a new movie.”
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Mark first rose to fame as the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg, one of the original members of the iconic boy band New Kids on the Block. At 13, Mark was originally slated to join the group, but dropped out after a few months.
He began pursuing other projects and in 1989-1990, began recording with a group of vocalists that later came to be known as Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Their debut album was a success, with its lead single, “Good Vibrations,” becoming a number one hit, all before he turned 20.
He parlayed that success into film roles, making his film debut in 1993 in the TV film The Substitute. Mark eventually caught the eye of the public with his starring role in 1996’s Fear opposite Reese Witherspoon, and skyrocketed to fame once again as the star of 1997’s Boogie Nights.
In fact, in an interview with People, Mark revealed that Ella was interested in paying tribute to his past, so much so that she purchased a Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch tee from a vintage store.
“My daughter actually was so cool. She bought a Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch T-shirt from a vintage shop, and she’s been rocking it like crazy,” he told the publication.
He emphasized that she “wasn’t doing it to give me a hard time,” rather “she was really rocking [it] with me.”
“It’s nice to have [her celebrate] some of my past,” he sweetly added. “That was actually a very nice little moment for me.”
source: hellomagazine.com
