By Tony Gutiérrez, The Catholic Sun
Mark Wahlberg, the star of the biopic “Father Stu” set to open in theaters on Wednesday, April 13, has been very vocal about his Catholic faith in recent years. Wahlberg was so committed to making the film about the late atheist boxer and actor who became a Catholic priest and lived his priesthood with an incurable muscular degenerative disease, that he partially financed it himself.
Prior to a private screening for local Catholics, Wahlberg sat down with The Catholic Sun to discuss his own spiritual closeness with Father Stuart Long and how his faith has guided him through his career. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sun:
You shared with Raymond Arroyo that you had asked for Father Stu’s intercession throughout this whole process, and I imagine you’re not alone in believing Father Stu to be a saint. Even though you never knew him in this life, could you share a little bit about your spiritual closeness to Father Stu?
Mark Wahlberg:
Oh gosh, yeah. When I heard the story and finally took the time to listen to the amazing journey that Stu’s life was, I committed to making the film, and that was obviously an uphill battle for the last six years. Whenever I hit any kind of roadblocks, or things didn’t seem to be coming together, I would always just kind of pray, and it just always would reaffirm my reasons for making the movie and the importance of getting the movie made.
Now, Stu’s kind of really got his hooks in me here. He’s in my thoughts and my prayers all the time, so when I’m talking about doing other things, he definitely has influence in the things that I’m doing now and in the future.
Sun:
“Father Stu” is not your first biopic. You’ve done other films — “Invincible” and “The Fighter” come to mind. What is it about these roles, these biopic films that attract you?
Mark Wahlberg:
I always gravitate towards true stories. These are the kind of movies that I love to watch, the kind of movies that I love to make.
I think it makes you raise up your game. You have a responsibility to the people that you’re portraying in the movie and their loved ones to get it right. I’ve always felt like that was an opportunity for me to do my best work.
Sun:
My friend had been in seminary, and when he was in seminary, he and a group of his classmates took the rector to go see “Ted,” which isn’t exactly on the list of “must-see” Catholic films [it is rated “O” for “morally offensive” by Catholic News Service].
Mark Wahlberg:
Chuckles
Sun:
But I’m told that the monsignor was laughing out loud throughout the whole time. What role do you think that humor plays — even outside of the Catholic context — in a life of faith?
Mark Wahlberg:
Oh my gosh, you have got to be able to laugh. You’re dealing with so much difficulty and adversity, you have to be able to laugh. You have to be able to laugh at yourself, you have to be able to laugh at the people around you. There are times, obviously, when you need to take yourself serious, and there’s times when you need to just be able to laugh.
That’s why I love the “Serenity Prayer” so much: you focus on the things you can control, and the things you can’t, you just put them in God’s hands.
Sun:
You’ve lived a very public life and undergone quite a public conversion in the last several decades. As Catholics, we believe that conversion is an ongoing process, not just a one-time deal.
Mark Wahlberg:
No, it is not. It’s a part of every day.
Sun:
How have you seen your own work change as you’ve continued in this process?
Mark Wahlberg:
I’m just gravitating towards more meaningful material with substance. I think making this film, seeing how much it’s touched and impacted people in a very personal way, how much they’ve related to Stu with all the struggles that they’ve gone through, it’s now encouraging me to want to make more movies that have some sort of faith-based components.
Sun:
How do you discern what roles to accept while remaining true to your faith?
Mark Wahlberg:
Well, I’ve always hoped that my faith wouldn’t deter me from or make me compromise my artistic integrity. But at the same time, while being a parent and a husband, I do think about those things. Everything weighs into the equation.
It’s the kind of thing where you’re doing jobs as an actor for hire, you want to do the complete opposite of the last thing you did. I just did an action movie, so to do something that has humor and just more fun and light. But then I’m always looking for something to really sink my teeth into and do something dramatic and something impactful.
I think age and my faith now definitely kind of weigh in on the kind of roles that I would play. Like, would I be able to then go and say I’m doing a movie like “Boogie Nights” right now, being a married father of four, and playing that particular role? Maybe if I was playing Burt Reynolds’ role or something. I can’t help but think about that sort of thing.
Sun:
When you’re on set and you’re making a film, how do you find the time to reflect and that time for prayer when you’re having that super crazy hectic schedule that you’re always on?
Mark Wahlberg:
It’s how I start every day. I start every day getting on my hands and my knees expressing my gratitude, and then all the things that I need to pray for, the people that I need to pray for, the guidance that I’m looking for.
Then, of course, reading my daily devotionals. But even with a movie like this, we were at a church that was posing as a seminary, so I had lots of time to pray in between. Even when you’re shooting, there’s still lots of downtime in between takes. I’m a multitasker, so I like to kind of keep occupied while I’m working.
Sun:
What kinds of devotionals are those?
Mark Wahlberg:
I have one that’s 365 days of prayer that I get from a church in the Philippines that’s amazing. A buddy of mine gave me one as a gift, and then from that point on, I just started ordering them from the Philippines. I get them every Christmas. I don’t expect anything really for Christmas — like big gifts — other than I have to get at least two of the devotionals. I have one to travel and I have one at home in case — God forbid — I ever lost one. But they’re very good.
Sun:
Thank you. I really appreciate it.
Mark Wahlberg:
Yeah, it’s a pleasure.
