Actor Mark Wahlberg is one of the most loved actors of today, having a wide spectrum of movies to his name including, Unchartered, Ted, and Transformers: Age of Extinction. While he has done a great number of movies, Mark Wahlberg also had to turn down a few in his career, including Star Trek as he didn’t completely understand the script.
This isn’t the only critically-acclaimed movie the actor turned down. The 2005 movie, Brokeback Mountain directed by Ang Lee, was supposed to look a bit different than it does today as Mark Wahlberg was in discussions for it. However, he stated that refused to be a part of the movie and turned down the role. Now the question arises, wasn’t Mark Wahlberg in the movie?
Mark Wahlberg turned down Brokeback Mountain?
Brokeback Mountain starred actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in the lead roles as gay characters. Well, it turns out Mark Wahlberg had a discussion with the movie’s director about starring in the film. There aren’t many actors who let the opportunity of working with Ang Lee get out of their hands. So, what went wrong down the road? Apparently, Wahlberg found the script a bit creepy.
“I met with Ang Lee on that movie. I read fifteen pages of the script and got a little creeped out. It was very graphic, descriptive — the spitting on the hand, getting ready to do the thing. I told Ang Lee, ‘I like you, you’re a talented guy, if you want to talk about it more.’”
However, in later interviews, the Ted actor stated that he wasn’t ever handed the role. Talking to Access Hollywood, he stated that while he had a meeting with Lee about the movie, the role wasn’t outright offered to him and that he was just trying to downplay the whole incident. He further blamed his insecurities for not letting him do different things and said that he wasn’t in the movie because Lee didn’t think he would have been a good fit.
“The funny thing was I was basically just trying to downplay the fact that I was never offered the movie. I mean, I had a meeting with Ang Lee but he didn’t offer me the movie. You don’t pass up an opportunity to work with Ang Lee. I’ve been scared to do other things before because of my own insecurities but I faced them … I was just basically trying to make light of the fact that I was never offered the movie. He didn’t think I was a good enough actor to play the part.”
According to reports, many other industry names were also considered for the movie, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt. Edward Norton was also asked to direct the film. Brokeback Mountain’s screenwriter, Diana Ossana, while in conversation with The Wrap stated that while everyone loved the idea, no one was ready to commit. Ossana stated that no one was given a real excuse as to why wouldn’t they get on board and added that maybe they just saw it as “too difficult.”
Whatever may be the case, looks like the movie had everything it wanted at the end, including a perfect cast and a perfect director. No wonder the movie did so well!
Brokeback Mountain’s Success
While it wasn’t a traditional love story, the gay romance went on to receive huge critical acclaim. Brokeback Mountain was a great hit at the box office and went on to win three Oscar awards and a few nominations. Lee won Best Director and Gyllenhaal was a nominee for Best Supporting Actor. With a $14 million budget, the movie ended up making $178 million and is still remembered as one of the most groundbreaking movies of all time.
At first, people ridiculed the movie upon hearing about it and laughed it off calling it “the gay cowboy film.” However, with its box office success and Oscar buzz, who is laughing now?
Brokeback Mountain is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Showbiz CheatSheet
