The Transformation Of Mark Walhberg From Childhood To 50 Years Old

Former rapper, Academy Award-nominated actor, food industry entrepreneur, reality TV star, HBO executive producer, Calvin Klein model. These are just some keywords associated with Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg, most of which involve him finding considerable success. Wahlberg's massive industry success is also particularly noteworthy given he started out his career knees-deep in legal issues involving violence and some reportedly racist stuff, as the Independent detailed.

While #90skids may know Wahlberg better as Marky Mark from the hip-hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, youngsters probably know him best for his work in box office hits, like "Planet of the Apes" and "Ted," as well as critically acclaimed films like "The Departed" and "The Fighter." The former got him an Oscar nomination, and both earned him Golden Globe nominations for his acting, according to IMDb – clearly, his abilities have not gone unrecognized. 

Wahlberg has come a long way since his troubled youth that propelled him into the spotlight back in the 1980s. As Wahlberg himself stated in a 2020 interview with The Guardian, he has worked hard to put his life on track and make amends for the wrongs of his adolescence. Wahlberg has largely left his music career behind, making film his main vocation, while adding on considerable business ventures on the side. Keep scrolling to check out his transformation over the years!

Alma Elaine and Donald Wahlberg's relationship often turned aggressive, with a lot of "yelling and screaming" involved, Mark Wahlberg told The Hollywood Reporter. In 1982, when Mark was 11, his parents separated and he began to divide his time between both households, per the report. He turned to the streets and his behavior deteriorated quickly. Soon enough, Mark's bad behavior turned violent.

In June 1986, he and a group of friends reportedly chased young Black siblings while yelling racial slurs, according to The Smoking Gun. The following day, Mark and two others saw one of them at a beach during a field trip and hurled rocks at the fourth graders once again, wounding a couple of them, the report detailed. In a civil suit, Mark was found guilty of violating the children's civil rights and the case was settled a month later, per the Independent.

Less than two years later, in April 1988, the then-16-year-old hit a Vietnamese man with a wooden stick, injuring the man's head, per The Smoking Gun. Later that day, Mark attacked an American man of Vietnamese descent, punching him in the eye. The officers who arrested Mark stated that he made "numerous unsolicited racial statements" to refer to the men, according to The Smoking Gun. Mark pleaded guilty to felony assault, contending he had been under the influence of PCP, according to the Independent. He served 45 days in jail.

Mark Wahlberg began dabbling in film soon after launching his hip-hop career. In 1993, he starred in the made-for-TV movie "The Substitute" and made his big-screen debut a year later opposite Danny DeVito in "Renaissance Man." He landed his first leading role in 1996, when he starred with Reese Witherspoon in the sinister hit thriller "Fear." The following year would consolidate his status in Hollywood when he portrayed adult-film star in "Boogie Nights." "[T]his chunk of movie dynamite is detonated by Mark Wahlberg, the rapper formerly known as Marky Mark, who grabs a breakout role and runs with it," Rolling Stone wrote following its release. 

The early 2000s marked the peak of Wahlberg's acting career, with "Planet of the Apes" and "The Italian Job" among the list. In 2004, Wahlberg also added the title of executive producer to his repertoire with HBO's "Entourage," whose plot was inspired by Wahlberg's own experience arriving in Hollywood, according to Rolling Stone. "I will never own up to which bits are real! 'Deny until you die' is my motto," he said, adding that his experiences "were always a lot more dark and edgy."

In 2006, Wahlberg starred as a crude detective in Martin Scorcese's "The Departed," a performance that was recognized with nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Five years later, he would snag a Golden Globe nomination for his starring role in "The Fighter."