Mark Wahlberg is still complaining about his hair extension battle with Martin Scorsese on The Departed
Mark Wahlberg says "it all worked out in the end" with Martin Scorsese and The Departed, but he was "a little pissed"
Aux News Martin Scorsese
Can you imagine being Oscar-nominated for a film directed by the most esteemed director of his generation and complaining about the experience? That’s Mark Wahlberg on Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, a set Wahlberg hasn’t stopped shit-talking since 2007. In fairness, 17 years later, he softens his complaints by saying, “I was a little pissed about a couple things but look, it all worked out in the end, I think.” But that didn’t stop him from bringing up, once again, the fight over his hair extensions.
“Originally I was supposed to play another part. Originally, I was supposed to get paid,” Wahlberg recalls on a new episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “And then even when we kind of agreed that I would play Dignam and I saw the advantages of playing that part and how I would approach the situation with everybody else playing opposite me, I then had another movie after.”
Wahlberg was going into Invincible, so his “weird hair” in the movie was because he “was just trying to grow my hair for the next film.” Generously, he says he “completely [understands] where Marty was coming from’ dealing with his star-studded cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Jack Nicholson, and more) as well as the studio. Wahlberg “was supposed to be in and out in five weeks,” but shooting ended up taking longer, “And so I went off to go and shoot Invincible, got my hair extensions, came back and then they were like, oh you gotta take out the extensions. I was like, [this] shit took eight hours. I’m not gonna take this out. We had a couple of issues.”
Wahlberg now acknowledges that Dignam was “a good role” and “an opportunity for me to really kind of go off and have some fun.” But the action star has been talking about how disgruntled The Departed made him for years. In 2018, he told GQ he rejected Scorsese’s offer multiple times because “I wanted a different part, and I wanted some other different things.” He was flown to Scorsese’s office where “I read the script again, and I was pretty angry and I said again I wasn’t going to do it. Marty told me, ‘Look at this part, look at what you get to do with all these people.’ He knows I’m from that [Boston] world and I talked to him about improvising and doing my own thing and he said, ‘Dude, you’re free to do what you want to do.’”
But even after getting Wahlberg to agree, the pair continued to butt heads through filming, as evidenced by the infamous hair extension story. The actor first told it in 2007 to The Telegraph, sharing that “I wouldn’t cut my hair and Marty was pissed off. He was like, ‘You’ve got to cut your fucking hair,’ and I was, ‘I don’t give a fuck.’ He was, ‘I’m Martin Scorsese… da-dee da.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m not getting paid for this… da-dee-da. What the fuck?’ He was pushing me in different ways.”
In fact, “Marty and I were constantly in this struggle,” Wahlberg said in that 2007 interview, adding another anecdote where he questioned why they weren’t moving ahead to shoot a scene and was told Scorsese wasn’t “creatively there yet.” Wahlberg “had problems with Marty,” he admitted, “But it wasn’t just Marty. The whole time I was in the character so I was mad at everybody. It was Leo [DiCaprio], Matt [Damon] and Jack [Nicholson]. Fuck Jack, too.”
Wahlberg told The Telegraph back then that he and Scorsese were able to laugh about it now and even hoped to work together in the future… which obviously hasn’t panned out. Wahlberg even participated in a failed pitch for a Departed sequel with the hope of casting Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro. But getting Oscar nominations is “not as high on the priority list as it used to be, let’s just say that,” he now says on Happy Sad Confused. (That much is probably clear to anyone looking at his IMDb page.)
76 Comments
His nomination for Dignam was the definition of a throwaway Oscar nom.
He should’ve been nominated for Ted instead.
I’m not a Wahlberg fan generally, but he’s funny and memorable in the Dignam role. He makes a big impression in a short amount of time on screen, in a cast that is utterly stacked. Stealing scenes that have DiCaprio, Baldwin, and Sheen in them is quite a feat.I think the nomination was utterly deserved.
“I’m the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy.”They gave him great things to say, and he said the shit out of ‘em.
Baldwin’s line reading of, “Normally he’s a very nice guy. Don’t judge him from this meeting alone,” about Dignam always cracks me up.
Dignam was a fucking great role (only one outside of Baldwin who made it out alive) and he should be thanking Scorcese for trying so hard to get him to do it. He played it well too, meaning it fit him perfectly. The weird hair thing actually kind of worked too.
Also every line in the entire scene where Queenan and Dignam are recruiting Billy to be a long-term undercover. Absolute perfection from all three of them.
This is the AV Club still being pissy over KOTFM not winning any Oscars.
Huh?
I thought he was… fine. Like a lot of actors who catch a lot of shit for being limited, he’s good in the right role and/or with the right director (See also: Kristen Stewart). He did well enough with the part, but I think he is to this movie what Cameron Diaz is to Gangs of New York: Not terrible, certainly not as bad as persistent complaints would suggest, but it maybe could have been more with a different performer.
I think he peaked at Boogie Nights. He was very good there, and never would be that good again.
Cameron Diaz was in a different movie in gangs of new york, but I think that was because Scorcese got a little lost in the story on that one. I don’t blame her, since she’s a good actress, I blame him.Dignam made the departed. The movie doesn’t work without him. Sheen and Leo can’t do what they do without him. He’s also the only guy genuinely from boston, and gives the movie a sense of place when he’s talking about how Leo grew up. I don’t know who else could have grounded the movie like that, the closest I could imagine is Ed Norton, but he’s a little too cerebral.
I would totally watch a sequel that’s about where Dignam holed up after Queenan was killed, and then what he did after getting revenge.
I could not disagree at more. Diaz is lost at sea in Gangs, in an underwritten role that was never going to amount to much, no matter who played the part. I’m not generally a huge Wahlberg guy, but he comes into The Departed and throws grenades in every scene he’s in. It’s a classic, memorable, lights out supporting actor role and there’s about a billion more generic Oscar noms than this one.
“I wouldn’t cut my hair and Marty was pissed off. He was like, ‘You’ve got to cut your fucking hair,’ and I was, ‘I don’t give a fuck.’ WHAT THE FHACK AM I SUPOSSED TO DO WITH THESE HEAH EXTANSHUNS MAAHTY?!
Ah, Mark Wahlberg. Poster boy for our amnesiac, peri-Trump pop culture. “In 1986, a then 15-year-old Wahlberg and three friends were charged for chasing three black children and pelting them with rocks while yelling: “Kill the n*****s” until an ambulance driver intervened.“The next day, Wahlberg harrassed another group of mostly black children (around the age of nine or 10) at the beach, gathering other white men to join in racially abusing and throwing rocks at them.“A seemingly unrelated second incident occurred two years later in 1988, when Wahlberg attacked two Vietnamese men while high on the drug PCP.“He called one man, Thanh Lam, a “Vietnam f***ing s***” and knocked him unconscious with a five-foot wooden stick, while punching another man, army veteran Johnny Trinh, in the eye later in the same day. Officers reported that Wahlberg used racist slurs to describe both men.”https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/mark-wahlberg-racist-hate-crimes-wikipedia-history-george-floyd-blm-protests-a9554191.html
At least Marky Mark hasn’t run for president.Yet.
What? How is not bringing up something that Wahlberg did 30+ years ago constantly an example of an “amnesiac, post-Trump pop culture”? It was incredibly shitty behavior and if you want to continue to personally be mad at him, that’s cool. But he’s apologized for it repeatedly and attempted to make amends and it has nothing at all to do with this article.
Make amends? He requested a pardon a few years ago for the sole reason of expanding his shitty burger chain. If he wanted to make amends he could start by donating proceeds to victims of crimes like his. He may not be the worst celebrity out there, but he’s not the hill you want to die on either.
Make amends?Yes. He met with one of the victims in 2016 and apologized in person. That victim has said he forgives Wahlberg and that others should too. He requested a pardon a few years ago for the sole reason of expanding his shitty burger chain.And? How does that show that he’s not remorseful? The fact that a criminal conviction 30+ years ago was keeping him from doing business in the present is pretty ridiculous. He also stopped seeking the pardon when it became a news story and said publicly that it was a bad decision to do so in the first place. If he wanted to make amends he could start by donating proceeds to victims of crimes like his.He has a foundation to help inner city youth. https://www.markwahlbergyouthfoundation.org/ He may not be the worst celebrity out there, but he’s not the hill you want to die on either.What hill am I dying on? The “it’s stupid to constantly bring up decades old crimes that random celebrities have already paid restitution for” hill? I’m perfectly fine dying on that one. It’s not about Wahlberg specifically. I don’t even like him very much as an actor or a celebrity. But it’s fucking stupid that ostensibly liberal people are completely against the concept of rehabilitation when the criminal is famous and successful. If some random kid went to prison for something awful 35 years ago but had since turned their life around and was a valued member of their community, there’s no way in hell you’d bring it up all the time and act like their actions as a teenager were still relevant to who they are today. But when it comes to anyone rich and famous, people turn into the “John Lennon beat his wife” Onion guy every chance they get. It’s incredibly childish and myopic.
“But he’s apologized for it repeatedly”Has he?
Yes. He’s talked about it publicly numerous times and sought out one of the victims to apologize in person in 2016. That victim said he forgives Wahlberg.
38 years ago. Fuck off.
Triggered!
You fuck off. There are better hills to die on that Marky Mark.
Just wait until you hear how long ago the Holocaust was
I was a piece of shit as a kid too, but I never engaged in any hate crimes.
I’m not sure it’s so much that we have “amnesia” about Wahlberg’s crimes, as that we’re not sure what consequences you think he should suffer for them now.Wahlberg committed a series of violent, racist acts in 1986 and 1988. (He was a teenager at the time.) Wahlberg ultimately served a 45-day sentence for the second of these attacks. I agree with you that’s a worryingly light sentence. It was also 35 years ago. If Wahlberg served the maximum sentence, he’d still have gotten out decades ago. Our justice system is supposed to support the value of eventually letting people, even people who have done really bad things, move on with their lives. That’s doubly true for people who commit crimes as minors. Wahlberg is now a law-abiding, successful 52-year-old man with a family. He apologized to the victim of his assault and received the man’s forgiveness. Isn’t that exactly what we’re hoping happens to people who commit violent crimes in their youths?
Seems like people just want to call attention to it whenever he is mentioned in media, since most casual movie fans don’t seem to be aware of Marky Mark’s true past. I do like his work in some roles (Departed, Other Guys etc.) but I’m going to go out on a limb and draw a line between his troubled, pretty dumb youth and his current pretty dumb religious bullshit. Maybe he was just a dumb, kind of mean and angry dude the whole time but now he’s forgiven so he can get into heaven. Everybody wins!
Oh, you and your reasoned, logical and measured response!!! This is the Internet, and a comments section. Your type has no place here!!!
‘Amnesia’ was manifestly evident in someone’s decision to have him present a SAG award to the predominantly Asian cast of Everything, Everywhere… IMO, regardless of how old he is, how established a career he has, the record of violence you cite should be part of any conversation regarding his career- just as it is for a Mel Gibson or any other actor.
“any conversation regarding his career”Even conversations about hair extensions?
“just as it is for Mel Gibson…” Surely we draw some distinction between the actions of an ignorant teenager and those of a fifty-year-old man.I mean, Jesus, I’m finally in my early thirties and I can’t believe how much more I understand who I am than when I was fifteen.To head off the inevitable “but”, no, my teenage years didn’t involve racist violence. So what does that say about the environment I grew up in vs. the one he did?
So because he did something racist as a teenager, something that he served time for and has sought restitution for, he can never be seen publicly with any Asian person as an adult? That’s incredibly dumb.
Ah yes, the “Frank Stallone” of Mark Wahlberg comments.
Yep, you guessed it!
Do you just lurk, waiting for reasons to insert politics into completely irrelevant conversations? Also, “peri-Trump?” He did that shit 30 years before Trump ran for office. Nothing “peri” about it.
On a geologic time scale . . .
I lurk as much as any reader? I think you make my point precisely by describing the lowering of expectations of public figures, including cultural, accomplished by former President Trump as “irrelevant” to a discussion of their work. And, yes, “peri-” as I think we are living with incredible tolerances for racism, misogyny, etc. in public discourse, as we discuss “that shit”, aka multiple violent, racist assaults, commited by Wahlburg.
They mean “peri-” in the sense of the sauce, when repeated.
Say Hi to your mom for me.
Don’t forget his “If I was on one of the planes on 9/11, I would have stopped it” speech.
Although I like several of his movies and the way he plays his part in them, I think I would not want to meet him. He was brought up in a dysfunctional, Catholic family in a Boston that was and probably still is extremely racist. Hopefully he has gotten over his racism, but he hasn’t gotten over his toxic Catholicism and even inflicts it on his children. Hard to forgive.
So between Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg, one of them has a New Kids On The Block brother and one was sitting on the Moon or Mars, trying to get rescued.
One was buddies with Optimus Prime and one’s buddy was trying to kill, and then buddies with, Superman.One has been Bourne again several times, and one has been borne atop a planet of apes.
Why didn’t he just borrow the Wahlberg wig?
Fun fact: his hair extensions were made from Marty’s eyebrows.
That was great, thanks.
“Can you imagine being Oscar-nominated for a film directed by the most esteemed director of his generation and complaining about the experience?”I don’t know much about Wahlberg’s specific case, but yes, I can easily imagine that general scenario.
“Esteemed, old, white, male directors are owed the unquestioned obedience of their actors.” — the AV Club, when it doesn’t like the actor.
It’s always amusing to me how Italians, who were the recipients of decades of bigotry – some of it literally systemic, are now considered “white”.
Look at you being a racist, ageist and misandrist.
How did you get from the allegedly outrageous ask of “your character needs to have the same haircut” to “unquestioned obedience”?
I don’t see that in here at all.
lol it’s like half the audio commentary on Zodiac (yes, I know they weren’t oscar nominated, but I blame the academy and a wildly stacked year for that one)
I mean, he would have prevented 9/11 with his bravery and skill set, according to him, so he probably knows best about hair extensions.
I’m confused by the references to not getting paid. He did The Departed for free?
Pretty sure that was in regard to a hair-related bonus.
I think he’s talking about reshoots, but I don’t know if actors don’t get paid for those.
I read someplace that he made something like $5 million all-in (which seems high given the screen time). But even if it’s 20% of that he did okay.
He was getting supporting role money rather than a bigger paycheck for the original supposed larger role, and he wasn’t getting paid extra for the hair extension grief.
It’s kind of like when Ellen Burstyn complained to her husband (?) about the Requiem for a Dream script, “Look what they want me to do for no money!” It’s not that they were asking her to do it for free, just for little money compared to what she would expect for her normal fee.
I’m confused by the concept of an actor returning to a movie production to do reshoots and he doesn’t think it’s a big deal that his hair looks totally different than it did in any of the previously shot scenes. Continuity?
All hair matches continuity when you’ve recently adopted the fine art of fedora-wearing.
Mark Wahlberg is still complaining about his hair extension battle with Martin Scorsese on The Departed (That much is probably clear to anyone looking at his IMDb page.)So this article was just to complain about Wahlberg in general, right? He was asked a question in an interview, and from what I just watched, he just answered it truthfully.
Dude cranks them out for sure, so they’re not all going to be winners. Pre-covid it looks like he was in 2-3 features per year, and has returned to that pace.
Nobody looks good in that picture.
He’s quite the perfect Christian.
The perfect Catholic, anyway. Unquestioned obeisance, even when they rape your children.
I read this whole article hoping it would help me understand what “the vibration’s good like Sunkist” was supposed to mean.
It means that Sunkist Soda was bad at picking a slogan. Also, that Mahky was making a topical reference to a popular brand of the time.
Good Vibrations was used in Sunkist commercials
Nothing surprises me any longer, but I feel like I would have remembered that.
“Do you wanna have a mawp, or do you wanna appeah to have a mawp?”
I think I need a haircut.
I like to think that Dignam and Terry Hoitz are the same character in different movies…
Do people often work in Martin Scorsese movies for free??! Surely, he got paid for that. What he’s saying is he didn’t make millions of dollars, so it wasn’t worth it to even work with Martin Scorsese.