Mark Wahlberg shared the screen with some of the most acclaimed stars in Hollywood in Martin Scorsese’s 2006 crime thriller The Departed. The film featured him in the role of a hot-headed Sergeant, Sean Dignam, who appoints Leonardo DiCaprio’s Billy Costigan on an undercover mission to infiltrate Frank Costello’s criminal organization.
The film achieved significant success, earning four Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and also earned Wahlberg his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. However, in a recent interview, he revealed that he hadn’t initially intended to take on the Oscar-nominated role in the 2006 crime thriller.
Mark Wahlberg’s Unexpected Role Revelation in The Departed
In a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Mark Wahlberg shared his experience working on the Oscar-winning crime thriller The Departed. The actor has revealed that he was originally supposed to play a different character in the film before he ended up playing the role of Dignam.
“Originally, I was supposed to play another part,” he revealed. While he did not reveal which role he wanted to play in the movie, Wahlberg shared that he agreed to play the role of Sean Dignam after considering the “advantages of playing that part” and how he could approach the role within the ensemble cast.
Although he acknowledged feeling frustrated with certain aspects of the film, the Uncharted star expressed contentment with how everything unfolded for both himself and the movie. “I was a little pissed about a couple things,” he said before adding, “But look, it all worked out in the end.”
Apart from changes in his role, the actor also shared some behind-the-scenes challenges he encountered while working on the movie after The Departed coincided with his busy schedule and prior commitments to other projects demanding his attention.
Issues Mark Wahlberg Experienced Working on The Departed
Mark Wahlberg has earlier shared that he was not initially interested in the film and even went on to reject Martin Scorsese’s offer. “I wasn’t committed to making the movie,” he told GQ in an interview before adding, “Marty called me up and he was so excited about making this movie together. I said, ‘I’m not doing the movie.”
He shared that he wanted a different role in the movie. However, he eventually agreed to star in the film after Scorsese granted him creative freedom with his part. But the issues were far from over, as he shared in his recent interview that he “was supposed to be in and out in five weeks.”
However, The Fighter actor had to leave to shoot the biographical sports drama, Invincible, during which he got hair extensions for his role in the film. When he returned to The Departed, he was told that he would have to remove the extensions, which according to him took eight hours to put in.
“I was like, ‘Sh*t took eight hours, I’m not taking them out,” he shared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Despite the inconvenience and ensuing issues, Wahlberg ultimately recognized the quality of the role he was given, which would later earn him his first Oscar nomination.
The Departed is available to rent/buy on Prime Video.
