8 Milestones in the Evolution of Mark Wahlberg

The Perfect Storm (2000)

Fun fact: To this day, The Perfect Storm is still Wahlberg's biggest domestic hit, grossing $182 million. Wolfgang Petersen's film adapts the Sebastian Junger book of the same name -- a tale of a doomed Gloucester fishermen trying to hit a huge payday by venturing out to the Flemish Caps but who, as the title hints, run into a few meteorlogical complications. After Three Kings and this film, there was plenty of talk about Clooney and Wahlberg continuing as an acting duo well into the next decade; to date, however, this remains their last onscreen collaboration. (Wahlberg was reportedly asked to play the role of Linus in Oceans 11; the role went to Matt Damon when Wahlberg instead decided to star in...)

Planet of the Apes (2001)

Kind of a strange turning point in Wahlberg's career: The big-budget extravaganza remains his second biggest domestic hit of all time, yet exists as a kind of non-factor. I mean, in what world is a $362 million global grosser considered (when it's considered at all) as a flop? It would be five more years before a role of Wahlberg's created any comparable amount of buzz.

The Departed (2006)

Wahlberg received his first Oscar nomination for the role of wisecracking, street-tough Staff Sgt. Dignam. Not only did Wahlberg walk away with the only acting nomination from a stellar cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio (DiCaprio was nominated that year for Blood Diamond), Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon, but Wahlberg's character was (spoiler alert) pretty much the only character to survive this gangland bloodbath of a movie.

The Other Guys (2010)

Hey, who knew Wahlberg could do comedy? (Notwithstanding the unintentional laughs of The Happening, of course.) Sure, it was a little bit of a risk for Adam McKay to cast a guy best known for his roles as a brash talker more serious roles, but the move paid off: Wahlberg turned out to be the perfect foil for Will Ferrell in what might be the funniest film of this past summer. And yes, as it turns out, Mark Wahlberg playing a character who yells a lot is quite funny.

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