Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Mark Wahlberg (2022)

Episode Date: April 10, 2022

In the three decades since scoring a platinum debut album as rapper Marky Mark, Mark Wahlberg has grown into a versatile superstar in Hollywood with a range that spans classic dramas like Boogie Nights, the comedy hits Ted and Daddy’s Home, and the blockbuster Transformers movies. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the actor to talk about his latest role in the film Father Stu, the extraordinary true story of a boxer turned Catholic priest.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks, as always, for clicking and listening along. My guest this week needs no introduction, so I'll keep it brief. His name is Mark Wahlberg. What I will tell you is that he stars in the new film Father Stu. It's the extraordinary true story of a kind of middling amateur-turned Catholic priest, turns his life around, and does it while a degenerative neurological disease, gets worse and worse for him as his life goes on as this movie goes on. Mark made this movie effectively by himself. He paid for it anyway. It stars Walberg, Mel Gibson, and Jackie Weaver. So you've got three good names, three big names in Hollywood in this movie, but still because as he says, and you'll hear

him talk about this, there are no aliens, nothing's blown up, no superheroes. It's just a tough movie to get made. So Mark Bank rolled it with the help of a couple of people. He was that important to him. It was a movie that was pitched to him, actually a story that was pitched to him by another priest who said, boy, you got to hear this guy's story, this stew guy. And so you'll hear Mark explain why it means so much to him. There are themes of faith and redemption that apply to Mark's life as well. He also, for the part, put on 30 pounds, 30 pounds on a diet that included consuming 11,000 calories a day to get there. A lot to talk about with this, film and a lot more right now with Mark Wahlberg on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.

Thanks for doing this, man. Good to see you. Good to see you. Thanks for having me. I appreciate catching you at a busy time right now. You've got a huge movie coming out today and Father Stu on the horizon, but it's not unusual for you. You're always busy. Always got a lot of stuff going on. Yeah, yeah. No, no, no. We're always staying busy and especially with Stu, you know, this is a movie that I've been trying to push uphill for six years now to get it made. And it's certainly the most important film that I've ever done. So I'm excited about it. So Father Stu, it's an extraordinary movie.

I just finished watching. It's going to move so many people. And it's a true story. So how did you come to it, first of all? How did you hear about this guy? I was sitting at a restaurant one early Saturday afternoon with two priests, former pastor at Good Shepherd, and the current pastor, good shepherd.

And we're trying to eat Father O'Rey's 92, so we're sitting there having some fish and a little glass of wine. Father Ed keeps telling me about this movie that he wants us to make. And I'm like, I don't know if you should be pitching me movies for. And it's weird because, you know, I've bounced around from church to church because sometimes when I go to church, I'll be sitting there praying and I'll get tapped on the shoulder that, oh, I have a book or I have a script or people will be, like, waiting for me to kind of pitch me something.

And, you know, I really kind of go to worship, and you never know what somebody's going through at the time, and I want to be polite and everything, but I go because I need to be there. And so I was like, you don't need to pitch me. And then he was still just adamant about telling me the story. It already told my wife, and she mentioned it to me. And then he started telling me again. And then something that he said about when Stu was already an assisted living home that just sparked an interest in me. And then from that point on, I said, start over. And I actually paid attention.

And that's when I committed to getting the movie made. Yeah, because it is, you hear it as the movie goes on, you have to check, like, wow, this actually happened. This is a true story. What was it about him? What was it about Stu and his story that made you stop and say, wait a minute, start over. I want to hear this. Well, I think it was just his brutal honesty. It was like, it was a person who would come into the, to the, cut the line and just had the sense of entitlement because they were,

big contributors to the parish. And there were a lot of people who were in line who needed Stu's time that maybe didn't have the resources that anybody else had to be able to cut to the beginning of the line. And he just basically put this woman in her place. He always used harsh language if he had to. He was always very honest and very direct and right to the point. And I just thought it was relatable.

I just thought it was relatable. And I said, okay, this sounds really interesting. And I was always, I was at a pivotal time myself in my own spiritual journey because I was going to church a lot. A woman, the principal, at a school in South Central, she had come to speak. And she kept talking about the importance of being a participant in the church and not just a spectator. So at that time, I was like, okay, they really touched me. And I'd always kind of sit in the back in the corner, kind of hiding. I mean, I would go up, I'd get communion.

I'd do what I felt was necessary, but I was always still just trying to be low-key. And so then somebody came up and asked me after, if I'd be an usher, I kind of started to say no, and I said, yes. I said, obviously, this is happening for a reason. And then shortly after that, somebody came to me and asked me about hosting the festival of families with the Holy Father, was coming to Philadelphia. And I said no at first. Then I just said yes.

And then I realized the responsibility that it would entail. And that kind of freaked me out. did it, it was a wonderful experience. So I was just kind of thinking about that and getting involved and doing more and I always wanted to do more with what I had been given and the blessings that have been bestowed upon me. And it was like, okay, God didn't put me in this position to kind of forget about where I came from and just kind of focus on me all the time. It was like, okay, how do I use the platform that I have now to give back and start to do service? And so, you know, kind of getting Stu's word out there, continuing to promote his message, and just encouraging people

to focus more on their faith and to have hope. And this was obviously before COVID, but how timely is it now that so many people are living in uncertain times and, you know, dealing with the unknown and, you know, mortality and really questioning lots of things and why things are happening. And I thought, you know, this is this is a good opportunity for me to start my mission. and focus more on giving back and doing more with what's been given to me. Don't want to give away the whole movie, but for people who are going to go see it, this guy's story is amazing. He's a fighter, a bruiser, kind of a middling guy with a career who's not going anywhere,

suffers an accident that's compounded by an illness. It goes on and on, and he decides he's going to become a priest. Yeah. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to see some parallels to your own life about redemption, second chances, all of those things. Did you see some of that in Stu? Absolutely. I think, you know, I don't think anybody's beyond redemption as long as they want to repent and want to do good. I mean, that's the thing, you know. I'm certainly not in the business of giving up on people. I have hope and faith in everybody.

And, you know, this is about acceptance and love and hope. And that's why the message goes far beyond just my Catholic faith. This is a movie for everybody. It's inclusive to anybody of any faith in any denomination. This is a movie. It's amazing to have seen. the movie, I hadn't been in a theater for probably almost two years and then to have gone into a theater with a recruited audience that really didn't know what they were seeing, people from all walks of life and to see the reaction that they had and how when you kind of do a focus group after and you're getting comments from people and how people who would never normally say that they saw themselves in Stu were all kind of saying the same thing. I knew that we were touching on something that was important. And you know it's everything that everything happens for a reason. And this is just, you know, me trying to contribute and trying to do

everything I can to bring people a little bit closer together. You've talked about this movie as a turning point in your life and in your career as well. What do you mean when you say that? How are things made different by this movie? I've had many, many turning points, eye-opening experiences, you know, things that I've learned that have just kind of touched me and helped me to get to the position that I'm in now. But I've just been working a lot on Mark Wahlberg in my career and, you know, obviously my family and my faith, but haven't done, I should be doing more. And I committed to doing more. And I asked for Stu's intercession and Mary's intercession, the God's intercession, if this movie was meant to be, to get it made the right way. It's one thing to get a movie

made, which is a difficult movie to get made in Hollywood with this type of subject matter, obviously. So I had to finance the movie myself and ask some friends to chip in. But, to make a movie that's good and that actually works, it's a very difficult thing to do. So, you know, that was just the kind of first step into saying, okay, I mean, we do a lot with my foundation. We've done a lot with opioid epidemic and drug addiction and working with inner city kids and at-risk youth, but I just got to do more, you know, and I'm committed to doing more. So making that pledge and that promise on my own when I get in my little private space in my hands and my knees, you know, that's making a real.

commitment there because, you know, it's like what goes on in somebody's head is, is their own business. But when you make that promise, you know, and you don't, you don't deliver, it's not a good thing. It's interesting to hear you say you kind of want to be almost a little anonymous at church because you're not there to be a celebrity. You're not there to use your name for any reason. You're there for personal. Did you, did a switch kind of go off for you where you said, oh, wait a minute, maybe I can use my name and my celebrity to push this forward for other people? Well, I always, always have, but at the same time, you know, my faith teaches me that, you know, the left hand is not supposed to know what the right hand is doing. You're not supposed to be

taking credit for any of that, but to be able to utilize that, I certainly wasn't put in this position for nothing, you know, so I need to utilize that as best I can. If that platform is there for me to go out and, and, you know, just promote positivity and love and inclusion, you know, then that's what I'm going to do. People in certain scenes in this film may not even recognize you. you put on 30 pounds, I think it was. We were just talking about the diet and the regiment you went through to do that. Brutal, eating 7,000 calories a day, up to 11,000 calories a day. Why was it so important to you to put yourself through that for this character?

Well, I mean, it's just, it's what Stu went through. I mean, Stu was a fighter. He was a football player. I mean, he was very athletic, very fit. And, you know, once he was diagnosed with IBM and, you know, basically, started to lose a lot of his faculties, all of his muscles just stopped working and basically everything just kind of shut off. And so to kind of show that in the most honest way, I mean, that's what you got to do. So, you know, a lot of actors like to, you know, say, oh, I had to do

this to prepare. I had to do that, to prepare. I spent, you know, two years talking like this guy or whatever. I just, it was just what was called for to play the part. You know, I've done it many times. I did it this time and I'm a little bit too old to be doing it, even though I did in the most healthy way possible, because it takes a toll on you. But, you know, if you'll see pictures of Stu and especially the end scroll of the movie where you see the real Stu, I mean, he lost all of his mobility and, you know, it certainly reminded me a lot of what my dad went through after my dad had a stroke and lost a lot of his mobility. So I had, you know, lots of years looking at my dad deteriorate and how that affected me.

And so, you know, just to be as accurate as possible in my depiction of him and how the disease affected him. But the great thing about Stu is as his physicality started to deteriorate, his spirituality soared. I mean, he couldn't perform the physical duties of a priest, but they ordained him anyway because he was touching so many people. You know, he really had the ability and the power to speak to certain people in a way that they knew rang true. to them. And he had real life experience, you know, and very similar to my real life experience, where, you know, I can communicate to people who, you know, have had different struggles that I can relate to, and I identify with that maybe people, you know, in my industry, don't necessarily, you know. There's that beautiful speech at the end of the film where he says

the suffering brings you closer to God. Absolutely. What a perspective to have on the hand he had been dealt. But how wonderful is it to have that point of view and outlook on life as a whole, because if you're lucky enough to live to 100, you're going to do a lot of suffering. But if those things do allow you to be closer to God, it's like I was telling a friend, I'm 50 now, he's 54. It seems like every day we're losing somebody else that we know and that we're really close to, right? The older you get, the more you deal with loss. But instead of all the, oh my God, I don't understand. Why is this happening? I believe in heaven. I truly believe in heaven.

And so there's no more suffering for that person. They just got the best gift ever, right? I also saw something on Instagram where this guy had this giant long rope and had this little piece of tape at the end of it. He's like, this is your lifespan and this is eternity. But everybody keeps worrying about this little bit of the rope. They're not worrying about all these other things that they're afforded if they, you know, live a good, healthy, happy, positive life.

And so, you know, to have that attitude when you're dealing with the unknown and COVID and mortality and sickness and cancer and all the terrible things that are out there in the world that people are, you know, could be susceptible to. This is a wonderful way to cope with those things. So it gave me a lot of comfort. Yeah, I mean, since you mentioned your dad, my dad has Parkinson's disease. He's had it for 30 years. So those scenes really moved me, especially the scene where he's alone in the chapel

and just asking why, you know. So, yes, there's a enlightenment and a sunniness to the dissoniness to the disqualification. disposition to you're trying to inspire other people. But of course, as you know and Stu knew too well, there's darkness too. Yeah. To overcome. Yeah, absolutely. And that's, you know, I don't think nobody is, everybody's going to have to deal with it at some point, right? So I think what better way to give comfort to yourself and, you know, and to look at it that way. And, you know, I lost my mom during the movie. I know, sorry. And I held everything. in. And that moment is part of me dealing with that. But also there is a shift in a transition

within that scene. And really throughout the whole film where we try to infuse as much humor as possible, Stu always had a great sense of humor, you know, and he really didn't feel like anybody should feel sorry from it all. He felt like based on the life that he lived and the things that he had done that he deserved far worse. And he was willing to suffer much more to serve God and to get closer to God and to have a chance to, you know, be forgiven for his. his sins and his transgression. How did you handle that loss of your mother while you're shooting this film that's very much about mortality and the meaning of a life?

What was that like for you? It was tough. It's a lot easier to tell somebody else to celebrate a loss than it is to actually do that. But I do just really remember most of the wonderful things. It was hard to see her suffer for her last weeks and to be there watching that and to just kind of watch her deteriorate, but she had always, always remained really positive and, and really encouraged us to be happy and to, you know, think about nothing but the good times, which was helpful for sure.

She had a hell of a life, that house at nine kids, huh? Oh, amazing. Amazing. I don't know how she did it. You know, her and my dad will always be my heroes. Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Mark Wahlberg. right after the break.

Welcome back now more of my conversation with Mark Wahlberg. This movie, people will watch it and say, okay, wow, this is an incredible individual performance by Mark Wahlberg. We've seen him do it before. You've done all different kinds of movies. Does this movie feel different and special to you than maybe any other that you've done before? Absolutely.

You know, A, it's the first time I actually really had to go the extra mile to get the movie made. And I've been a part of movies, you know, like The Fighter and other movies where, you know, the movies already kind of existed. Those stories were kind of out in the world. Studios wanted to make them. Other people were trying to make them at one point or another, and then I would take them over and get them done.

This one we kind of started from scratch. And I had originally started with David O' Russell. And, you know, we kind of went down the road with one writer and that really didn't work out. And we had met with somebody else. And I don't know, I just had a different sense of urgency. to get the movie made. And even Father read, his frustration about the movie not getting made, you know, was really discouraging for him.

And I was like, it takes time. Trust me. Fighter took exactly six years as this movie. And but I knew I was going to get it made. And we had to make sure that we got it made the right way. Right. So how it came together was really how it was meant to be. It's nice to show it to an audience, to have friends and other people see it and say,

is this as good as I think it is? have I done this right? Yeah. What's been the response? Yeah. I remember even seeing the editor's assembly, and we kind of all kind of piled into my office and watched it. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

There was lots of laughter and then lots of emotion, but still people leaving on a very emotional high at the end of the movie, despite the loss of Stu and everything else that he went through. It's the way he handled it with such grace and humility that it really encourages people. And also, it's challenged everybody who's seen it. I think the last 15 or 20 minutes of the movie, people start thinking themselves about what would they do if this happened to them. And they all know somebody who suffered some sort of sickness, disease, loss.

But they also look at themselves and say, what am I going to do to contribute in my own way and make a difference? And that's the best thing about it. I get the phone calls after. The movie's really stat with me. oh my God, it made me think about what am I going to do to help. I want to get up and do something for somebody today. I want to make a positive contribution in some sort of way.

And that's an amazing feeling. Yeah, but, you know, it's obviously it's the greatest role that I ever got to play. I mean, the guy goes through so much in such a journey. There's such a great arc there. But it's a story, and it's his story, and continuing to move his message forward. And, you know, I still have a big picture of him on my desk, on the cover of my script. And it doesn't matter where I'm at in the room.

You know, when you look at a painting and they're always just staring at you. And he's always challenging me to do more and to do better and to make sure that I really delivered. So, yeah, that was, it doesn't get more important than that. Have you heard from people around him? Obviously, he passed away. Yeah, yeah, just to have his dad call

and to be laughing about scenes. I think he's, Bill is amazing because he was able to kind of say, okay, it's a movie. I mean, yes, I lived through this story, but it's a movie. It's them depicting what happened. I still have all these wonderful moments myself. Like, you know, when he and his wife got baptized, and Stu was on a gurney in the archbishop who had ordained Stu was baptizing his parents.

And Stu was laying there, you know, with assisted breathing and oxygen and tears running down. He's tears of joy that he finally brought his parents back to God and got them baptized. They had dealt with a loss of a child at a very early age. They didn't know how to handle it. Those things are very difficult. You know, parents aren't supposed to bury their children. My mom was never the same after my sister died the day that my daughter was born. She was never the same.

And for my sister Michelle to pass, too, before my mom passed, it affected her deeply. So I can understand them not knowing how to cope, not having the skills and the ability to cope with the loss of a young child and being angry at the world, being angry at God. And then, you know, but by doing that, they all. also neglected Stu, but his dad had an opportunity to come back and be the dad that he wasn't early on when he took care of Stu. I mean, Bill was there to change him, change his diaper, feed him, bathe him, all of those things. And, you know, Stu only referred to his father as Bill until his dad came back to take care of him. And then it was dad. You know, it's a very powerful thing. So he got to, he got to redeem himself.

You know, and that's a, it's a very, very powerful story. It is. And we see that in the movie, too. We've got to stop and say Mel Gibson and Jackie Weaver, just incredible in those roles, which, as you're saying, you had trouble getting this made, I'm going, okay, it's a beautiful story. It's got Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, and Jackie Weaver. How do you not bite on that movie? But I guess that's a story of Hollywood. Yeah, you know, if it was, if there was an alien invasion in there somewhere or, you know, some sort of superhero, then it would have gotten made.

and the budget would have probably been $300 million. It's just one of those things where, and it's great because I don't think people really got it on the page. And I didn't send it out to too many people. I sent it only to a chosen few people that I knew well and had a relationship when I thought maybe I could get, I could pique their interest. And it didn't work. So I just said, okay, I'm not going to go down the rest of the channels and exhaust this process.

I'm just going to step up and I'm going to cut it. check and I'm going to get some other people that I know to cut a check with me and we'll just make it on our own because you know if you think about you know the log line the one-liner it's like okay this could be pretty darn depressing right they didn't realize how much humor would be infused in there and how much laughter and really how much hope you know it really instills hope and faith into people at the end of the day to see that see that energy of people coming out of the theater they feel so uplifted they feel like in these uncertain times, that there is some certainty in their own heart now, in their own mind, that they're

going to be able to cope and they're going to be a lot more positive about the things that are just unavoidable or out of your control. It's like the wonderful serenity prayer. You know, it's like you just have to let go with the things that are out of your control and work really hard at the things that you can control. And then, you know, also challenging people to do more, to do more, you know. And I feel like, you know, again, the redemption story, it's so important, you know, as long as people want to do the right thing and are willing to really do the work to better themselves, then they should get a second chance for sure. I don't want to write anybody off because, you know, if you're writing somebody off or you make a point to write somebody off, you know, you're affecting somebody's life in that way.

And, you know, you may have stuff that you haven't dealt with in your own past. And then to have that, it's, you know, then you're going to have judgment yourself. Were there people, Mark, when you were a kid, you feel like maybe wrote you off based on the way you came up and Dorchester and all the things you went through as a kid? But there were also people who were there for me. And they were there for me and they encouraged me to do the right thing. I was just, unfortunately, I was too, I just wasn't able to recognize the importance of listening to the people that actually had my best interest at heart. You know, I was much more of a follower when I was young and very impressionable. And I wasn't, I didn't really, I didn't really, I wasn't a leader.

And I didn't have the courage to say, you know what, I'm going to be my own individual until I had to go through some really hard times. But the people that wanted to help me were always still there. You know, Father Jim Flavin, who came to me and touched me and was, you know, one of my closest friends of confidants. And one of the best examples I could have ever asked for since I was 13 years old, he was the consultant. on this film. He came to work with me on this film every step of the way and he just sat there when I was in the collar and everything. He couldn't believe it. I mean, he thought there was no way in, I don't want to say the word he used, but there was no way that I would, he would have ever imagined that I would be there dressed in the cloth and making a movie like this. He never thought

it would ever happen. But that's redemption, right? That's second chances. That's what the movie's about. You got to have people who believe in you, maybe sometimes and you don't know the right way to go. Absolutely. But, you know, I mean, I was very fortunate, very blessed, but imagine what others can do with a little bit of encouragement, a little bit of support, a little bit of love, and a little boost and a second chance.

I mean, there's, you know, we are, the world is starving for great leadership, for great examples, to bring people together. There's so much divide. I mean, I cannot wait. And hopefully this will be a movie that will just bring people together, into a movie theater again and to laugh and to cry together and you know and and again send them home thinking about you know maybe I could do a little bit more and I could do a little bit better that's

that's that would be a job well done so what is this too very proud this turning point that you're talking about in your career what does that look like as a practical question more movies like this more inspiration or up with I want to well I want to make movies as an actor I want to make movies that challenge me as an actor that surprise audiences that entertainers that entertain people. I want to make people laugh. I want to make people cry. But I just feel like there is an opportunity for me to do so much more with my influence to help others and to make sure that it goes to places where it's really needed the most. I understand people having their own causes and their own interest in the environment and things like that. But we have kids in our own neighborhoods

in this country that are really struggling and that don't have an opportunity that other people may have and we want to make sure that they all have an opportunity. So where I utilize my resources, or I utilize my platform, how I do those things. Yeah, I just got to do more. It's very admirable. It'll be fun to watch how that plays out going forward. Do you think about, it doesn't sound like it with this movie, but do you think about like accolades and awards and things like that? Because people are going to pay attention to this movie in a way they're going to say this is truly a singular incredible performance from start to finish. Is that window dressing, gravy, if that comes down the line?

Yeah, I think we really want to reach the biggest, broadest audience possible here and abroad. And then if those things come fantastic, because that'll just bring more attention to the film. That'll bring a lot more attention to the film. But, you know... I'm trying to start your Oscar campaign is what I'm doing here. Oh, well, thank you. It's a little early. But I think if people really recognize the power of the film, then...

then maybe those things will happen. You know, we'll see. But, you know, again, if this movie does a lot and does a lot of business, it'll do a lot for people, and then we'll be able to do a lot with the success of the film to help others. What did your wife and family think about this one? I'm curious if this feels different to them, too. Yeah, the kids, I remember I tried to show my kids, oh, God, we were on holiday, and we had a COVID thing going on, so we were kind of stuck in the,

this little hotel anyway. And so I showed them and my daughter just looked at me and she goes, Dad, this has got to be the most boring movie I've ever seen and that's ever made. And this is like midway through, right? She's 12. Yeah. So I let that slide. But my wife was really moved emotionally.

But my wife was a cancer survivor. My wife's been through a lot. My wife's had to deal with a lot of loss and a lot of real health issues. So when we watch it the first time, she just ran out of the room. She was super emotional after the film. She's tough. She's really tough, but she's been through a lot.

She's fighting cancer out of young age. That's not an easy thing to do. And you don't have to have that experience. She's probably going to be very upset with me for sharing that because I don't think I've ever mentioned that. But I want her to also go out, because there's probably lots of other folks like her and women going through something similar

and to know that she's a survivor and she's come out stronger, that would be very helpful to a lot of people. So I'm sorry, babe, I love you. Nice clean up there. But it's true. I mean, you don't have to go through it if you know somebody who's gone through something like this.

This is definitely going to hit you. Stick around for more of my conversation with Mark Wahlberg right after a quick break. Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Mark Wahlberg. Before I let you go, how did you, so 7,000, 11,000 calories a day, what does that entail just for us mortals out there? How do you begin to eat that much? Something you put it in your body?

I just kind of try to remember one of the days towards the end of the film. You get up, eat a dozen eggs or 12 pieces of bacon, either regular or turkey bacon, two bowls of white rice, drink a cup of olive oil, have a weight gainer, protein shake. And then you're eating again two and a half hours later. And then it's like steak chicken. It's not like, okay, we're having pancakes. We're having all this fun food. We're having ice cream Sundays. Even then, it's only fun for a couple of days.

Right. You know, and I was really clean in my eating up until the boxing, because I want to try to figure out how I could, you know, get as thin as possible. We did the boxing all in the first day. And that night, I started eating, you know, two porter house steaks, baked potatoes with all the bacon and cream cheese. all that stuff. How does the stomach hold up on that?

Not good. Not good. I had, let's just have trying to find the medical terms for chronic diarrhea. I had irritable bowel syndrome. Yeah, lots of bad things for a long time. Is there any medical intervention at any point where they're like, hey, man, you need to stop doing this? I went to see, yes, I tried to do the, I went to, obviously, to a gastro, and we had those issues, couldn't find anything.

Like, you're doing multiple stool tests and breath tests and all these tests, and then I had, you know, had to take these big antibiotics for 15 days to clean on my lower intestine. Now the doctor thought I had a parasite, so I was drinking apple cider vinegar by the bottle to kill that. It was quite a process. It wasn't until I stopped eating and cleaned up my system, did a full detox and flush that I was then starting to feel better. So, yeah. And then how do you get it off? I mean, we've seen the 2 a.m. workouts. It's so much easier to lose weight than it is to gain weight. There's nothing more miserable than when you go to bed at seven and somebody's waking you up at 10 o'clock and you're still full from the

last meal to eat again. That is the worst. And, you know, if you don't eat, you're just a little irritable, but, you know, you can deal with it. You know, you drink a lot of water. It curbs your appetite a little bit. You know, there's ways to kind of manipulate that. And it's just much easier to deal with, just a little more annoying.

But the physical just difficulties of continuing to stuff your face when you're already full. It's just not fun. I was going to say some people go, oh, yeah, I get to eat full. for six weeks and put out 30 pounds, that sounds fun. Actually, it doesn't sound fun. In that way, it's not. It really, it was exciting to me. Like, I'll do, when I had lost weight for films,

I would, like, literally sit in a restaurant, and I would smell bacon and pancakes and home fries and toast and English muffins. And I just sit there in the front of the restaurant. My wife would be so like, what are you doing? You know, we're on holiday in San Anas Valley, and they've got this little diner down the bottom of the hill, and I'm just sitting there,

and we have coming back from church, and I go in there, I say, I want to get a newspaper, because I could smell the food coming from the chimney. So I just went there and I'm sitting there. She finally comes in to get me. She's in the car. She's like, what are you doing? And I'm like, this is all I can do.

Just leave me alone. Leave me be for a little while. What a scene that is, Mark Wahlberg alone in the diner, just with a shuffle putting it in. But, you know, I really, I think it's just also the combination of just being older, you know, and I've done it a couple of times. It's not good for you. The 2.30 a.m. workouts, you were saying,

or more a product of, I got a busy day ahead of me. Yeah. How do you, like, when you wake up in the morning, how do you manage? Okay, I got this movie. I'm trying to get funded. I got this other movie I need to shoot or promote. I got Walburgers. I got municipal. I got car dealerships. I got my hand in everything. How do you manage all that? I know you get a little help. Yeah, I mean, I've got great partners. You know, I get into the car business with guys that know cars. You know, I don't get into the car business with guys that know film and television production. That's for sure. Smart. But, you know, I get up early enough. I mean, I kind of start my day, my hands and my knees, I get my little 15 minutes of prayer time. I'll go down to the gym. I'll get all that done.

And then I'm making calls. Now I'm not eating other than like a six-hour window, so I don't have to then sit down and eat a chicken and then have a protein shake and all that stuff. I'm not eating. So I'm just making phone calls and taking care of my stuff. And then, you know, the kids are finally getting up. I've read my script that loud already. So I've done my preparation for work. and then get the kids up and then I start the rest of the day.

But I do go to bed and I know my wife especially finds it very annoying that if I'm getting up at 2.30 I'm usually going to bed at 6.30. I need eight hours of sleep. The rest is the most important thing. So she's wondering where you're going for dinner and you say, I'm going to bed. Yes. Or I try to convince her to go to dinner with me at 4.35 o'clock. Oh, that's fun. Yeah.

You get the place to yourself, I guess, is the upside? Yeah, I know. I told the story right. But I was trying to, you know, get her to go to Maastros at 430. on Valentine's Day, and we would have been the only ones there, and I probably would, I probably would have tried to convince her that I had rented out the whole place for us, just to make it more special. Do your kids, we were talking about teenagers, I've got some too, are they impressed by anything you do, or are you just dad, and they roll their eyes?

I am, but now, you know, my son's now, they're playing golf, and they know that I can play pretty good, so they're impressed with that, and they know that I'm buddies with lots of pro golfers and stuff like that. So now that they play, they're a little bit impressed with that. and while they're impressed with the relationship that I have with lots of professional athletes. So I'm trying, not only do we have lots in common, but I also try to help them out in whatever ways that I can, free of charge. It's nice to know that they have a friend that doesn't need anything from them because they get a lot of people trying to hitch themselves to their wagon. But I think they are secretly impressed with my work ethic and my discipline.

You know, and I have to be example for them. I have to show them that, you know, dad's going to get up, he's going to do whatever he has to do. I could easily be complacent now. that I've had success, but I'm more driven now and determined than I've ever been. It's clear. The movie is really good. People are going to love it. And I hope it does big business and gets you all the acclaim you deserve. Excellent.

Congratulations. Thank you. My big thanks again to Mark for a great conversation. You can catch his new film, Father Stu, in theaters, starting April 13th. And my thanks to all of you, as always, for listening. If you want to hear more of these conversations with our guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss it. an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist.

We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.