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Live With Regis
Interview
October 17, 2000
Regis Philbin: Boy is this guy hot right now. I mean, let me tell you, Boogie Nights, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm and now here comes the new one and there are big ones after this one too. The new one is called The Yards. Here is Mark Wahlberg.
(Mark is dressed in a black suit with White shirt and grey tie)
R: Look how nice you look. Very handsome Mark.
Mark: I ah, dressed up because I'm here with you. I wanted to look good.
R: See how nice cleaned up. Honest to God. Very Handsome
M: Thank you sir.
R: Mark, of course, you all know the story, grew up in Boston, the youngest of 9 kids in the family. What was that like? Did they - The youngest gets the leftovers right?
M: That is true. Well, yeah, in a family of 3 or 4, you'd probably get spoiled. But by the time I came along, my parents were pretty tired. I was left to my own devices.
R: Your dad . . . calls you Mike.
M: Yeah, well it's kinda of a long story. They used to call me Monkey because of this monkey I used to drag around with me. And I didn't like that very much. And I tried to have a man-to-man talk with my did one day and said 'Dad I don't like that very much.' 'What do you want me to call you? You want me to call you Mark?' "Well, I don't like that either." He said what you want, anything you want.' I said Mike. He hasn't called me anything since.
R: No Kidding
M: Literally like less than a year ago I called him. He said 'Do you mind that I call you Mike?' I said no not at all. Anything else would sound ridiculous.
R: It's a wonder you didn't like Marky Mark, you could have changed it to Mike Wahlberg when you started into the business. Think about that at all?
M: It could have been Mikey Mike.
R: When you were a kid growing up, did you watch movies. Were you involved in Hollywood?
M: Oh God. Me and my dad used to act out scenes for him. He said this was always my calling. He never said it until I stopped. He always said My idea, the idea of me rapping was pretty ridiculous. But, ah, we always watched Cagney movies, Steve McQueen, John Garfield was all we ever watched. Which is why he likes The Yards so much. Because it's so much more of a character driven movie.
R: Uh huh, I can see Garfield in a role like this. I know a little about this movie. So The Yards is the name of it huh?
M: Somebody told me you're a Cagney fan.
R: Oh yeah Jimmy Cagney, one of the best of all time . . .
M: The best.
R: and Steve McQueen
M: Yeah, Steve McQueen was the coolest, but Cagney, a guy who played the tough guy but sings and dances the way he did and get away with it and still have the respect he has. He's my kind of guy.
R: And he grew up right over here in New York City on the west-East side.
M: Yeah, I actually, ah, was ah, brought to his neighborhood, in a theatre where he used to- where he used to work and I've got some of his old contracts and pictures from all of his movies.
R: No kidding, you're a- all his movies?
M: yeah
R: Michael J Fox is also a giant Cagney fan too.
M: Is he?
R: Michael went up to his house after he was retired. I think it was like his 90th birthday or something and visited with him.
M: oh wow, that's amazing. Somebody almost talked me into buying, he has a house I think that he used to own in Martha's Vineyard. It's like ridiculously priced. Because he owned it, I'd probably be sucked into buying it
R: You might wind up buying it?
M: Yeah, I'll probably pay a little more
R: Let's talk about your career. All of the sudden you're the key guy in Hollywood. 3 big hits in a row.
M: I'd like to say crazier things has happened but . . .
R: Wow, boy oh boy
M: It's pretty wild.
R:Here comes your forth movie and now you're the star of this one pal. Now you don't have to linger in the shadows of another. This is your show. You're carrying this movie, starring Mark or Mike or whatever you want Wahlberg
M: No pressure, no pressure, Well I, When I decided to really, you know, committ to acting, I never wanted to take more than I could handle. It's been a gradual process but ah . . .
R: Did you study, Mark, I mean . .
M: I never studied. I've always said I gone to the Penny Marshall school of acting. That was my first movie. I worked with her and Danny. I spent 20 weeks just sitting there watching and really learning from them
R: You can absorb alot just from watching people. honest to God you rally can. Tell us about the movie noww. This is about a guy who just can't get out of harm's way, can he?
M: He's a guy - yeah, he, the begininng of the movie, he's gotten out of prison and you know, he's set to do right and really try to do good in his life.
R: Matter of fact he got in prison for taking the rap for other guys.
M: Somebody else, yes. Which is what happened to me early on in my life. I didn't do anything Regis.
R: Is that right?
M: Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Yeah, it's about him, you know, really trying to figure out, you know how to make it right.
R: And even though he gets out. He gets involved in a situstion that is
M: It wouldn't be an interesting movie if he didn't
R: In this particular scene that we are going to show everybody, he goes back. He's on the run. Breaks in. Yes he wants to see his mother one more time. Returns to his mommy right?
M: Played by the best actor ever, Ellen Burstyn.
R: Oh my God.It's going to be good. Here's a scene from The Yards
(Shows Clip)
R: The Yards is going to open in LA, New York and Chicago tomorrow and Friday October 27th nationwide. Going to be a big movie. My guy, Mark Wahlberg starring in it. Mark Thank you very much.
M: Thank you, my pleasure.
Copyright 2000 Live with Regis/WB/ABC/Regis Philbin & Mark Wahlberg
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