Mark Wahlberg: From Star To TV Power Player

WHATEVER else comes to mind in connection with the actor Mark Wahlberg, who first gained national attention by dropping his pants as Marky Mark on stage during rap concerts and posing in Calvin Klein underwear ads, one thing now stands out in the public's mind. "I don't care what I'm doing, what filmmaker I've worked with," Mr. Wahlberg said in an interview over lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel, "people spend 20 minutes talking about the project I'm involved with and then they mention 'Entourage.' "

It even happens at church, which Mr. Wahlberg attends regularly. "Young, old, men, women, black, white, everywhere I go," he said. They all want to know about "Entourage."

More or less a chronicle of Mr. Wahlberg's own ascension as a Hollywood leading man and the enviably sybaritic life that has followed, "Entourage" was an instant sensation among voyeurs wondering what celebrity life might really be like, and among young men who like to dream of wealth and indolence. Now, heading into its fifth season on Sunday with three Emmy Awards under its belt and five fresh nominations, the show has become a powerful calling card and more for Mr. Wahlberg, one of its producers.

In fact, even as Mr. Wahlberg continues to win starring roles in movies like "Max Payne" and "The Lovely Bones," "Entourage" is proving to be the first step in a long-term plan Mr. Wahlberg hatched years ago with his partner, Stephen Levinson, to become formidable players in the television business.

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Comments

[Charity]

i especially enjoy seeing him as host of the Antique Roadshow.

hee-hee-hee.

[RovesPRmachine]

I worked on the show for many years. Never saw Mark once. He drove by after the pilot for 5 min. That's it. They used his name to get the show going. Thats all.

The media will believe whatever we tell them to believe.

[wagadog]

from boy band singer to underwear model to movie star to tv producer.

what a trajectory.

[situationcritical]

Mark was never in a boy band. That was his brother Donnie.

And that's MR. "underwear model to OSCAR„¢NOMINATED movie star to tv producer" to you.

[rowzeer]

It was Markie Mark and the Funky Bunch. They were a bunch of guys. That consider a boy band?