MMoviesovies Mark Wahlberg flexes his comedy muscles INTERVIEW Hollywood tough guy plays it for laughs in ‘The Other Guys’ By Justin Beddall OS ANGELES — Mark Wahlberg is a funny guy. No seriously, he is. Of course, the Academy Award- L nominated actor with the bad-ass mien doesn’t always come across that way. Today, the 39-year-old, with biceps bulging out of his grey V-neck T-shirt, is sitting in a posh hotel to promote his latest movie, The Other Guys (opening Aug. 6), a com- edy in the traditional mismatched-cops- who-become-buddies mold. Co-stars Will Ferrell, Michael Keaton, and Eva Mendes, along with director Adam McKay, banter and crack jokes in front of a gathering of North American media, but Wahlberg’s vibe is more intense — his eyebrows even arch menacingly at times. As the conference begins, he checks his watch: “We’re eight minutes late.” The fi rst question is for the director, a reporter asking about a “brilliant” mon- tage sequence, but Michael Keaton jumps in, straight-faced: “You may want to address Mark — that was actually Mark’s idea.” McKay, playing along, adds, “It was Mark that shot that, actually. It was one of Mark Wahlberg (right) and co-star Will Ferrell play NYPD screw-ups in the cop-buddy caper, The Other Guys. the times where our [director of photogra- phy] said he couldn’t handle it, and Mark said, ‘I can.’” The cast laughs. Wahlberg hardly cracks a shooting star New York Yankees shortstop Award and Golden Globe nominations), guys who are literally ‘the other guys’ in a smile. Derek Jeter while on security detail at a Boogie Nights, Invincible, Shooter, and The force, the guys that no one cares about, no Minutes later, Wahlberg is asked about home game, earning him constant mock- Lovely Bones, to name a few. But the tal- one wants to listen to, and kind of have his input into the psyche of his onscreen ing from other cops at the precinct and the ented former street tough has demonstrated their chance to step forward and prove character, Terry Hoitz, who has to come to nickname “Yankee Clipper.” a remarkable ability to shape-shift in his that they can actually do something,” terms with being demoted to a traffi c cop career: from rapper and explains Ferrell. despite wanting to be a detective his whole Calvin Klein model to Wahlberg didn’t need convincing. He life. Arms crossed, Wahlberg scratches his actor and TV producer didn’t even need to read the script. unshaven chin and says, “I basically just did “They said, ‘Would you be interested (HBO’s Entourage). “They said, ‘Would you be interested in whatever they told me.” “Literally, I always doing a movie?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’” Wahl- More laughter from the cast. They love in doing a movie?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ wanted to do a comedy, berg recalls. “And they said, ‘Do you want to this guy. And they said, ‘Do you want to hear the and to get an opportu- hear the idea fi rst?’ And I said, ‘If you want “I learned the lines, I’d show up, I’d say nity to work with these to tell me. If not, we can just order dinner the lines, and if they wanted me to try any- idea fi rst?’ And I said, ‘If you want to guys is just a dream and drink some more wine.’” thing else, I’d certainly be, you know, willing come true,” says Wahl- Wahlberg says he felt “very comfortable” to try anything,” he shrugs. tell me. If not, we can just order dinner berg, who was honoured when it came to “anything cop-ish or ac- That’s when Keaton, who plays Wahlberg’s with a star on the Hol- tion,” but with “all the other stuff, I basically boss, Captain Mauch, grabs the mic. “You and drink some more wine.’” lywood Walk of Fame wanted to follow their lead.” know, let me say this, let me interrupt you. last week. He did, however, have to adapt to McKay’s Sorry,” he says, putting his hand on Wahl- Ferrell, of course, is penchant for using improv-trained actors berg’s shoulder. “Everybody felt this guy no stranger to comedy. who are given basic lines and tons of leeway. [Wahlberg] is, like, ridiculously funny.” To his dismay, Terry is partnered with Nor is director McKay. The pair met on the But, as McKay discovered, Wahlberg has “I’m killin’ it right now,” Wahlberg dead- Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell), a paper-pushing set of Saturday Night Live in the mid-’90s, a comedic side, too. “Well, he’s got such pans. forensic accountant who prefers the safety and have teamed up to co-write the box- a great kind of small [instinct for] char- Finally, the actor smiles — and the packed of his desk. Worse still, they share the same offi ce hits Anchorman: The Legend of Ron acter and everything, and when he starts room breaks into boisterous laughter. NYPD water cooler as the macho, headline- Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of pointing it towards the comedy, it’s just a “Am I right?” Keaton says, turning to the grabbing cop duo of Christopher Danson Ricky Bobby, and Step Brothers, and cable pleasure to watch.” cast. “Me, McKay, and [Ferrell] would go, (Dwayne Johnson) and P.K. Highsmith television series Eastbound & Down, as well Still, that side doesn’t always come across ‘Who the fuck knew this was in this guy?’ (Samuel L. Jackson). Soon, however, Hoitz as creating the website FunnyOrDie.com easily. Later during the conference, a reporter I mean, he does voices and impressions. I and Gamble fi nd themselves investigating a and The Other Guys’ production company, asks: “Mark, could you talk about the [long- was knocked out. When you look at him mazy, high-stakes ponzi scheme that will put Gary Sanchez Productions. rumoured] Entourage movie?” sometimes, you think he’s nice enough, but them on the front pages. Ferrell says he and McKay had been dis- “Well, we hope to do one. But we still he looks like he’s going to kick my ass, and Playing Det. Hoitz is a rare break from cussing the idea of working with Wahlberg have another season and a half to go, so that doesn’t feel necessarily comfortable. But the usual for Wahlberg. Despite deservedly in a comedy for years, “not only because he’s they could certainly mess it up,” he replies he’s ridiculously funny — and really funny acclaimed but little-seen comedic turns in such a good actor, but really funny at times in a serious tone. in this movie.” Rock Star and I Heart Huckabees, he’s largely in the roles that he’s done.” Keaton can’t resist. In The Other Guys, Wahlberg’s Terry is an made a name for himself in Hollywood The pair pitched Wahlberg on The Other “See what I mean about him being action-seeking detective with a short temper with his more dramatic performances: The Guys over dinner. funny?” who gets assigned desk duty after mistakenly Departed (which earned him Academy “[McKay] came up with idea of these MOVIES continues on page 19 16 August 5 - 11, 2010 .