Fans of Mark Wahlberg are very much used to seeing him all bulked up in movies, but as an actor, he needs to submit to whatever requirement a new role demands of him. After transforming into a muscular guy, he needed to shed all those weight for his role in The Gambler.
In the 2014 crime thriller film, Wahlberg plays literature professor Jim Bennett who leads a secret life as a high-stakes gambler. After borrowing money from a gangster, he offers his own life as collateral. Fans should know that this is a remake of the 1974 film of the same title.
Mark Wahlberg On His Dangerous Body Transformation
Mark Wahlberg confessed that his weight loss for the role in The Gambler was not very exciting. He had to stick to a strict liquid diet for six weeks and only consumed eight ounces of almond milk three times a day (via E! News):
“I was miserable because I like food. Then, I had to exercise for two-three hours on top of shooting a 12-hour day. It was not fun.”
Wahlberg was not the only person unhappy with his body transformation. Michael Bay, director of Transformers: Age of Extinction, was also worried because they still had a couple of scenes to shoot:
“We weren’t done shooting Transformers: Age of Extinction. We still had additional shots to do. So, I had to go to [Michael’s] house the day I was ready to wrap, 60 pounds down, and he thought I was dying.”
Bay is more than accurate with his comment after Wahlberg admitted in another interview that he looked very pale during filming, and it became a nuisance. He said at the AFI Fest premiere via US Weekly:
“No energy, no nutrition, and the studio, there was a complaint about that, that my lips were always looking blue. What the f—k do you want me to do? I haven’t eaten anything! If you make them red, I’m going to look weird, like I’ve got lipstick on, so it is what it is.”
It seems that the entire behind-the-scenes of The Gambler film was not as thrilling as it looks on the screen. Neither Wahlberg nor his family was happy about the weight loss. On top of that, the actor also lost a huge amount of money.
Mark Wahlberg Lost His Friends’ Money On Gambling
Mark Wahlberg admitted he lost tons of fortune after trying to play his role in The Gambler in real life. This was done as part of his preparation for the movie. He explained via The Sydney Morning Herald:
“I hit blackjack three times. Needless to say, I won a lot of money. And like my character in the movie, I took every chip off the table and walked right over to the roulette wheel, put it all on black… and lost everything.”
The actor reportedly flew out to Wynn Macau in China where he thinks that the business of gambling is more serious than anywhere in the world. He traveled with friends and even convinced them to give their money so he could put it on a bet.
Wahlberg won $45,000, but instead of walking away, he went over to the roulette wheel and risked his luck again. Unfortunately, the odds were not in his favor this time. He lost all the money, including the ones he borrowed from his friends.
Speaking as a guest on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Wahlberg said (via Cinema Blend):
“I was thrilled. I was like, ‘Oh my god, it plays out just like the movie!’ And these guys were like, ‘What did you just do?!’ $45,000 in cash!”
The movie was a risky gamble as well. It only earned over $39 million at the box office against a budget of $31 million.
The Gambler is available to watch on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.
Sources: E! News, US Weekly, The Sydney Morning Herald, Cinema Blend
