The most memorable Mark Wahlberg roles

Wahlberg had been in a couple of movies before this, and obviously was a known face, but Fear was his chance to break out as an actor. He did just that in this sordid psychological thriller that also starred a young Reese Witherspoon. We’ve never looked at rollercoasters the same way.

Having gotten super religious in recent years, Wahlberg has spoken out in displeasure regarding Boogie Nights. We have no such compunction, and we consider this a whirlwind, bravura film from Paul Thomas Anderson. Wahlberg leads a killer ensemble class of this story that is sort of about the adult filmmaking industry but is more a searing drama about the lives of the people involved.

With a top-notch cast, Three Kings felt like a blockbuster drama. It’s a bit more complicated than what many probably expected and darker. While the film’s production was fraught, the result was an Iraq-set war/heist film that ended up feeling weirdly prescient when the Bush administration rolled around.

Wahlberg and George Clooney reunited after Three Kings for what was a straightforward blockbuster drama. This is a movie about the crew of a ship battling against nature, a storm that some would argue is perfect. It proved to be a big hit with audiences, an unexpected crowd pleaser.

It was time for Wahlberg to become a movie star himself. This was his first chance to really headline a big movie. Tim Burton’s remake of Planet of the Apes made sense as a project on paper. A huge director and a popular story? Then, it was a total flop. No sequels were made, as the movie became a memorable mistake, even if it didn’t hurt the careers of Wahlberg or Burton.

Another remake from Wahlberg, though this one was tackling a less-beloved film. The Italian Job is a slick action movie about car chases and heists. The movie feels very “2003,” but it proved fairly successful and made a splash at the time. It was definitely memorable from Wahlberg.

For many, this is Wahlberg’s best acting performance. It’s definitely a different type of role for a guy who is primarily an action and broad comedy actor. I Heart Huckabees is an odd existential film from David O. Russell. Like Three Kings, the production was fraught, but Russell got a good performance out of Wahlberg, arguably a great one.

For a brief moment, people cared about the story of Vince Papale. The feel-good sports drama told the story of a Philadelphia Eagles fan who somehow ended up on the team. Wahlberg played Papale, bringing the real guy’s life to the big screen. It helped the long-term legacy of the film that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia did a whole episode riffing on it.

Martin Scorsese finally got his Oscar, and one actor from this cast got an Oscar nomination as well. No, not Leonardo DiCaprio or Matt Damon, but Wahlberg. This is so far the only time that Wahlberg has earned an Oscar nomination, and it was deserved. The actor is great in The Departed.

When we said that “most memorable” doesn’t mean “best,” your mind might have immediately gone to The Happening. This is an infamously bad film. M. Night Shyamalan’s movie is about…evil plant? The movie is a total disaster, but a fascinating one and Wahlberg is truly bad just two years after his Oscar nomination.

In 2010, Wahlberg started to ease into doing more comedy. He had a fun cameo in the forgettable Date Night, but he co-led The Other Guys with Will Ferrell. This action comedy was right up Wahlberg’s alley, and the casting was smart, given that Wahlberg has action bona fides but also proved deft at this kind of comedy.

Apparently, Wahlberg doesn’t mind working with David O. Russell, which is more than a lot of people can say. It paid off huge for The Fighter. While Wahlberg did not get an Oscar nomination, the movie had a big night at the Academy Awards. It was nominated for Best Picture, and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won acting awards for the film.

The success of Ted still feels implausible. It’s Wahlberg and a talking Teddy bear voiced by Seth MacFarlane. Then again, the longtime success of Family Guy speaks to the popularity of MacFarlane’s particular brand of comedy. Ted was a massive hit and even spawned a sequel.

In 2013, Wahlberg starred in four films. That’s a big year for any actor, but interestingly, none of the four films really broke through. They were also received somewhere from lukewarmly to decently. Of the quartet, Lone Survivor probably made the biggest splash.

This is the most recent movie on this list, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for Wahlberg. After all, this was several years ago. He’s been in plenty of movies since Daddy’s Home, including its sequel, but none of them really hit. There are films in the mix like Scoob! and Infinite, the latter of which was the first original film on Paramount+. Wahlberg will likely hit again, but this reunion with Ferrell is the last time he really made a splash.