Mark Wahlberg Opens Up about Faith: ‘I Credit All of My Success to My Faith’ in God
Oscar-nominated actor Mark Wahlberg is crediting his faith and his prayer life for his success, saying in a new interview they’re at the “forefront” of everything he does. Wahlberg has been open about his faith in recent years. He and actor Jonathan Roumie of The Chosen were featured in a Super Bowl ad this year for the Catholic prayer app Hallow, and two years ago, Wahlberg produced and starred in a passion project, Father Stu, that told the story of a Catholic priest who persevered in his faith as he developed a muscular disease.
This year on Ash Wednesday, Wahlberg made multiple appearances on national television, including on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, donning an ash-shaped cross on his forehead. The two-time Oscar nominee stars in a new movie, Arthur the King that releases March 15. Christian Headlines asked Wahlberg this week why he has been so outspoken about his faith.
“I credit all of my personal and professional success to my faith and also dealing with all the difficulties in life, all the unexpected things that come your way constantly, especially if you’re lucky enough to get older — you experience a lot of death, a lot of suffering, a lot of loss,” Wahlberg told Christian Headlines. “And in all of those things, I’m able to deal with those because I get great comfort from my faith. And so I just want to share that with people. People always want to know, ‘What do you credit your success to?’ And that is at the forefront of everything.”
In Arthur the King, Wahlberg portrays an athlete, Mikael Lindnord, whose team is competing in a grueling adventure race in the Dominican Republic when they encounter a stray dog with major wounds. Wahlberg’s character instantly bonds with the dog, dubbed “Arthur,” but then faces a dilemma: If he helps the dog find a vet, he could lose the race. The movie is based on a true story.
“I didn’t know anything about adventure racing [before the film],” Wahlberg said. “I thought the story was such an inspiration.” Much of the movie was filmed with Wahlberg suffering a knee injury.
“Day one, running on a trail, I had to go up and pass a team up on a hill. [I] jump off the trail, and then jump back on and landed on a rock and just hyper-extended my knee and tore my meniscus. … It was like, ‘Oh, well, I have to keep going.’”
Arthur the King is rated PG-13 for some strong language.
Photo credit: Lionsgate/Arthur the King
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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