‘The Departed’ Was A Hairy Experience For Mark Wahlberg

Bruce Haring
·2 min read

Mark Wahlberg has a few things to get off his chest regarding Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film, The Departed.

Appearing on the March 14 episode of Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor said that he was “a little pissed about a couple things” while filming the thriller, which also starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Vera Farmiga, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, and Alec Baldwin, among others.

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“But look, it all worked out in the end. Originally, I was supposed to play another part. Originally, I was supposed to get paid,” Wahlberg said, adding that he “had another movie” lined up for after The Departed.

“I was going into Invincible after. I was trying to grow my hair out, which is why I had that weird hair,” he added. “… But I completely understand where Marty was coming from. He had to deal with Jack, he had to deal with Matt and Leo and Alex and everything, the studio and everybody else who was in the cast. And then I was supposed to be in and out in five weeks.”

“And so I went off to shoot Invincible, got my hair extensions, came back and they’re like, ‘Oh, you gotta take out the extensions.’ “

He didn’t want to remove the extensions, since it took eight hours to put in. “So we had a couple issues,” Wahlberg said.

“But, you know, ultimately, I think when I read that particular role, I was like, ‘OK, this is a good role. This is an opportunity for me to really go off and have some fun,’ ” he said.

Wahlberg earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Sergeant Dignam in The Departed, but lost to Alan Arkin.

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