Mark Wahlberg stars in the new action suspense drama Contraband.
The film, which also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster and Giovanni Ribisi, tells the captivating story of Chris Farraday, a former smuggler who has to go on one final mission to protect his family from a drug lord (Giovanni Ribisi), who’s coming to collect a debt.
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So Farraday heads to Panama to collect millions in counterfeit bills and in the process gets caught up in a tangled web of lies, deception and exhibits some cunning law breaking skills.
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We sat down with Mark Wahlberg to discuss the film, which opens in theaters everywhere tomorrow. We highly recommend you go see Contraband this weekend, but until then, check out our interview!
What was it about the character that made you want to do the film?
Mark Wahlberg: There were a lot of things that I could identify with in the character and relate to. I remember seeing the original and I just thought it was really cool. There’ve been so many heist films and it was just the way he was able to do it. He’s a guy who is pretty tough, but I think he’s smarter than he is tough. He has to react to a lot of different situations and circumstances. The guy is fighting to protect his family, so I could certainly relate to that.
Did the subject matter concern you? Because we know the reality behind the terrorism that exists in our society.
It was terrifying, we’re actually trying to put together a show now about the Port of L.A. and all the different things that happen in this port, like a reality show, a docu-drama. We’ve been spending a lot of time down there. There are real dangers there: smuggling, trafficking and everything across the board. There was an incident that happened, but was never reported. It shut down the L.A. harbor for a week and was costing the nation $2.5 billion a day. Once that stops, nothing comes in, nothing goes out. It’s pretty scary stuff, but it’s a fascinating world.
Obviously the whole smuggling thing, they can never really figure out the way they go about checking containers, the guessing game, it’s really a cat and mouse game, you never know. I just thought it was an interesting story and it would be entertaining if we could do it the right way and get the right cast.
One of the best moments in the movie is the scene when you are on the ship and your brother-in law says to you ‘Admit it, you still love this!’ Your response is ‘Yes, but don’t tell my wife!’
Is there anything from your past that you don’t want your wife to realize you miss or would still like to jump back into?
The only thing … I just stopped hanging out with my friends at night. I don’t really miss the nightlife. You think you miss it, until you go back, then it’s the same thing. Last night we went to dinner at 6:30, I was in bed by 9:30. That was a late night for me because when I’m home, I’m usually in bed by 8:30. I wake up early in the morning, I’ve got the whole day to do whatever I want. I don’t wake up feeling like sh*t, feeling guilty, it’s a good thing. I still have golf as my only other guilty pleasure, but even then I don’t focus on playing golf as much as I did, ’cause I’m not that good at it.
You’ve never been shy talking about your past. You were a hoodlum growing up in a bad neighborhood, how has your past affected your choices today?
I’m so appreciative of all the things I’ve been able to do and overcome. I’ve been given a second chance. In life it’s not something that comes easy. I don’t want to do anything to mess it up, people are like, ‘Just go out one night.’ For what? I’ve got everything I want! I’m so blessed and so fortunate. Let me start everyday on my hands and knees being grateful and working to do the right thing.
I’ve been fortunate enough that I can apply a lot of those real life experiences to what I’m doing now. Both in front of the camera and to the kids growing up in similar situations. That’s the best that I can do.
We do a lot of inner city stuff, working with at risk youth and inner city kids. We just partnered up for the second year with the Taco Bell Foundation and created this idea to build a recording studio, a film and television studio.
