Mark Wahlberg is not just a Hollywood superstar; he is a real-life hero. We know how dedicated he is to his profession and, of course, fitness. Not only that but despite sustaining an unbearably painful injury, he is a kind colleague who saved hundreds of jobs for the cast and crew of his upcoming flick.
With Simon Cellan Jones directing, the 52-year-old actor is gearing up for Arthur the King, his next adventure movie. During filming a particularly difficult scene, Wahlberg—who is renowned for his solid work ethic and dedication to his roles—suffered a serious injury. Most actors would have called it quits, but not the Boogie Nights actor.
Indeed, he could not bear to think of disappointing his crew or the other cast members, so he endured the unbearable pain in order to see the project through to the end.
During a fan screening of Arthur the King in Los Angeles last month, the actor spoke with ET about his experience working on the movie. In the heartwarming new adventure drama, Wahlberg plays an adventure racer who, while competing, unintentionally makes friends with a stray dog.
Arthur the King: Mark Wahlberg’s Heroic Efforts To Work Through A Painful Injury
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Mark Wahlberg talked about the harrowing injury he sustained while filming his upcoming release. The actor plays an adventure racing team captain in Arthur the King, who befriends a stray dog while competing throughout the Dominican Republic. Like he does for every role, Wahlberg wanted to train like an actual racer.
However, during the first afternoon of production, Wahlberg got hurt while filming the second scene of the day. The Planet of the Apes star told the news outlet:
“You want to pay attention to the small stuff and you want to look the part. Unfortunately, I tore my meniscus the first day, so all my training went out the window. Then it’s basically just about getting through it.”
Well, while some cases heal on their own with rest and icing, others may worsen to the point where surgery is necessary. Wahlberg told ET further:
“I got to understand the suffering a little bit more than I wanted to.”
The doctor warned him that the tear might get worse if he did not stop shooting. But the idea of disappointing the rest of his cast and crew was too much for Wahlberg to handle. He acknowledged:
“I just felt like, you know, it took a long time to get the movie off the ground and we were in the middle of COVID, and if I had shut it down, I don’t know if we would’ve got it up and running again. So I just kind of toughed it out and I found different ways of getting through.”
This is a truly generous gesture. Although the doctor cautioned him that the shooting might exacerbate the tear, Wahlberg was adamant about not disappointing anyone.
Mark Wahlberg Believed That He Would Never ‘Put On Spandex or a Superhero Suit’
Though Mark Wahlberg had never encountered a situation like this before, the injury on Arthur the King’s set proved to be the first of many. Laughing, he made fun of the bodysuits racers wear under their uniforms and said (via ET):
“I did a lot of things that I didn’t want to do. The first was walking out of my trailer in spandex. I thought I would never put on a superhero suit or spandex, and I put it on and I had to shave my legs. What little hair I had on my legs I had to shave off. It still hasn’t come back.”
Wahlberg was asked if he would be interested in going on a survivalist expedition with famed survival expert-adventurer, Bear Grylls, as the latter made an appearance in the movie. The actor responded:
“If I get permission from my wife, yes.”
Of course, everyone is counting down the days until the release of Arthur the King to see the fruits of Wahlberg’s labor. But in the meantime, we can’t help but tip our hats to him for being such a superhero on set.
Based on Mikael Lindnord’s 2016 nonfiction book, Arthur – The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home, the film also stars Simu Liu, Juliet Rylance, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ali Suliman, and Paul Guilfoyle.
Lionsgate has scheduled Arthur the King’s release for March 15, 2024.
