Pedal To The Metal

DEEP INTO A TRIO OF MOVIE ROLES, PLUS SIX BUSINESS VENTURES, MARK WAHLBERG IS POISED TO HAVE ONE OF HIS BIGGEST YEARS EVER. JUST TRY AND KEEP UP.

- Marjorie Korn

Mark Wahlberg emerges from his house bare-chested and sweaty—obviously. If you follow the 48-year-old on Instagram, you know of his on-again, off-again relationship with shirts. It’s not even noon and he’s already finished his second workout of the day, which also is consistent with what we know about Wahlberg—that he is a serious fitness buff. His stamina for pullups is a thing of wonder. When he bench-presses, he doesn’t avoid the pain cave—he hangs pictures on its walls. What else do we know about Wahlberg? Well, we are contractually obligated to remind you that he is from Boston and loves Boston. He is devoted to his faith, his family, and the New England Patriots. He finds more hours in the day than the rest of us. He is a scratch golfer, spends time with the troops, and when he grills a steak, he knows the exact moment it is medium-rare.

This kind of familiarity can happen when you’ve spent the better part of three decades in the public eye. Everyone knows Wahlberg—or a version of him. For many, he’s an actor—both an Oscar nominee (The Departed) and one who sparked up with a CGI teddy bear (Ted). He’s a rapper. (The Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch song you’d recognize is “Good Vibrations.”) He’s an entrepreneur who has founded a bunch of non-show-biz-related businesses. And there are still others for whom Wahlberg will always be a six-pack with a coy smile (Calvin Klein ad, circa 1992).

My version of Mark Wahlberg is the one who inspired and served as executive producer of HBO’s