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Mark Wahlberg wasn’t happy on the set of Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. The actor played Sergeant Dignam in the 2006 drama, opposite the likes of Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon. Despite the movie’s stellar cast, Wahlberg has revealed he was “pissed about a couple of things” during filming.
Speaking on the March 14 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor explained that while “it all worked out in the end,” he was originally meant “to play another part” and was “supposed to get paid.”
Wahlberg also shared that he was busy preparing for “another movie’ (2006’s Invincible), a role that required hair extensions that took eight hours to put in. “I had that weird hair,” he recalled. “I went off to shoot Invincible, got my hair extensions, came back and they’re like, ‘Oh, you gotta take out the extensions.’”
Despite his grievances during filming, the actor said he “completely understood where Marty [Scorsese] was coming from,” adding, “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.”
Although he didn’t have the best on-set experience, Wahlberg’s portrayal of Sergeant Dignam earned him his first Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 79th Academy Awards in 2007. The Departed was also named Best Picture at that year’s Oscars ceremony, while Scorsese was awarded his first-ever Best Director trophy.
On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor also shared his thoughts on the Academy Awards, revealing that he only cares about being recognized at the annual ceremony “to a certain extent.”
“You want the movie to be recognized, you want to be recognized, it helps the ultimate success of the film, I think it enhances the box office quite a bit,” he said. “Especially if you have a movie coming out that time of year. But it’s not as high on the priority list as it used to be, let’s just say that.”
