We knew the minute Mark Wahlberg announced he was putting on weight for a role that he would be insufferable about it. And in a victory no one wanted, we were right. Now that his vanity piece, Father Stu is finally coming out, Mark is once again talking about how he put on 30 pounds in a short amount of time. Father Stu is about Stuart Long who was a boxer in peak physical form, went to LA to become an actor, got in an accident, found God, became a priest and passed away from Inclusion-Body Myositis. Mark considered himself the right one to tell Father Stu’s story, even though Father Stu was a very good man who loved and helped people. Mark, however, thought the best way to do the character justice was to shoot olive oil to get plump.
Mark Wahlberg went all in for his latest role. ET’s Cassie DiLaura spoke to the 50-year-old actor ahead of the release of Father Stu, for which Wahlberg put on 30 pounds in six weeks to play Father Stuart Long, the real-life boxer-turned-priest.
“I had six weeks to put on about 30 pounds. I started with 7,000 calories for the first two weeks and then 11,000 calories for the final four weeks,” Wahlberg said. “None of it was fun, except for the first meal was amazing, because I hadn’t eaten anything up until that point. But after that, when you’re already full and you have to eat again, and at my age it’s just not a healthy thing to do, to try to put on that kind of weight in that amount of time.”
After enjoying his first weight-gaining meal, the process quickly grew tiresome and unenjoyable, especially given the fact that he was literally drinking olive oil by the glass as part of his daily routine.
“I wasn’t eating anything that you would think, ‘Oh my God, I get to sit on the couch and eat ice cream and pizzas,'” he explained. “… I tried to do it in a healthy way. It was a dozen eggs and a dozen pieces of bacon, two baked potatoes, a Porterhouse steak, two bowls of white rice, and a glass of olive oil. The first two weeks were high proteins. The second two weeks were a lot of carbs. The last two weeks starches, and then sodium, just to kind of get as bloated as possible. So not a lot of fun.”
“At my age it’s just not a healthy thing to do,” then don’t do it. I’ve gone on record as saying that if the character gains weight during the film it’s a decent argument to use padding. I don’t think Mark needed to bulk up by 30 pounds in six weeks. And I don’t think there is a “healthy” way to do that. It’s always hard for me to listen to any diet that relies so heavily on oils and proteins because I have bad cholesterol issues. The thing is, all these actors who “fatten” up – it doesn’t add anything except a talking point to their interviews. What Mark said was “not a lot of fun,” was some momentary discomfort because he was trying to achieve a means to an end. He did not live the life of a person living with the discomfort of weight gained because of an injury or disease. It did nothing to bring him closer to the life Father Stu lived because he was still Mark Wahlberg, just temporarily walking around with more weight. And what’s more, he told us all ahead of time, so we wouldn’t speculate why he’d gained weight. Now he wants us to be wowed that he drank drank olive oil? I’m sure it was unpleasant but it was his choice and I’m sorry, I’m still unimpressed.
The only positive spin I can put on this is that with all that protein he was packing in, the olive oil might’ve helped him stay regular.
Photo credit: Instagram and Instar Images
Couldn’t he just have eaten whole wheat pasta with olive oil and fresh cheese and whole milk, also known as Alfredo? Throw on some dredged in flour chicken sautéed in olive or butter? It’s not that hard to come up with a “healthy” but very high calorie meal. I guess that isn’t as brag worthy.
He is gross.
Who actually asked for this entitled douchenozzle to make this movie about an apparently inspirational figure? Aren’t his fifteen minutes almost over? This inexplicably high profile “actor” has had his day, and packing on pounds will never make him an admirable human being, no matter how hard he postures about it.
When I had jaws wired shut after surgery in early 30s, I joked to doctor that it would help with weight loss. He said you’d be surprised, people actually gain weight on milkshakes and beer.
What is the point of this? Just to engender admiration for his dedication to the role? **insert eyeroll** He is such a pretentious douche. And a racist!
I really don’t understand why you’d risk your health for a role. His poor heart. Totally agree with the author of this article: if an actor gains weight in the film, by all means use padding and CGI.
I don’t know what’s more impressive, Wahlberg’s self-induced force feeding and weight gain, or his ongoing level of smugness.
I can imagine of many more pleasant ways to gain weight.
Hecate, there are so many gems in that first paragraph (I will be laughing all day at that glorious shade), but I am absolutely stealing “in a victory no one wanted”.
Mark has to talk about stuff like this because he’s a bad actor so he can’t talk let the quality of his performance speak for itself.
To me he is a hit and miss kind of actor. He is capable of turning in some good performances and other roles its like he is porno acting,very bizarre.
Dirk Diggler redux?
So why did he even do this interview re: “just not a healthy thing to do.” Certainly not incentive for me to watch the movie, listening to him gripe about how full he is ala Morgan Spurlock.
I’ve seen the commercials for this movie and it’s definitely for the MAGA crowd. And Mel Gibson is in it. 🤮
Anyone who would go out of their way to work with the openly bigoted Mel Gibson is not right in the head
Man, if I ‘had to’ put 30lbs on in a short space of time I would really enjoy myself and eat all the cheese, pasta, pizza, burgers, cake, chocolate, ice cream etc. i wouldn’t waste that golden ticket drinking f**king oil!!!
He thinks putting on 30lbs in six weeks was hard or noteworthy? Pfft. It’s really no problem. He should have tried mindless eating instead of overthinking it.