Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Well, Mark Wahlberg’s getting a new lease on life in “Father Stu,” but he packed on so much weight for the role they could have called it “Beef Stu.”
In “Father Stu,” Mark starts out as a bad boy with a good heart, but after leaving one career behind, it takes love and a scare to give him purpose.
He also had to gain 30 pounds in just a few weeks for this role.
Oh. Eat a lot of food? How awful.
People can change, at least in the new drama “Father Stu,” about a man whose amateur boxing career ends after an injury, and then moves to Los Angeles for money and fame.
Mark Wahlberg stars as Stuart Long, a bad boy who falls in love with a schoolteacher, but the longtime agnostic has to start going to church to win her over.
But God had different plans. A serious motorcycle accident makes Stuart realize that he’s actually meant to be a Catholic priest!
Alex Miranda: “Big switch for this character, right? From the boxing ring to the confessional.”
Mark Wahlberg: “As long as people are willing to work hard and change and show that, and repent, we should be giving people a second chance.”
Mark has switched from Marky Mark to Mr. Oscar-nominated. Plus…
Mark Wahlberg: “I’ll probably be a grandfather soon.”
But this true story was also a personal one for him.
Alex Miranda “You lost your mom during the filming of this. I cannot imagine what that was like.”
Mark Wahlberg: “I just lost the most important person in my life.”
Alma, who you might have seen on the family’s A&E reality show, “Wahlburgers,” passed away last April. Mark called her his angel in an Instagram post.
Father Stuart died of a rare muscle disease in 2014, but not before making an impact.
Mark Wahlberg: “I think it was his no-nonsense, brutally honest approach.”
Wahlberg once heard a story about a woman who donated generously to Stu’s church. But once she jumped a line expecting special treatment…
Mark Wahlberg: “He told her exactly how he felt, that just because she gave a lot of money didn’t mean she was a nice person.”
Money can’t buy you morals. Can I get an amen?
Mark Wahlberg: “It will challenge them to also go out there and do better and help other people.”
But let’s get to it. Mark, with those famous abs, gained 30 pounds for this role.
Alex Miranda: “Your body’s iconic; we gotta talk about it. That 30 pounds, was it a fun 30 pounds?”
Mark Wahlberg: “It was terrible, because you’re full and you have to eat again. It’s a lot easier to lose the weight than it is to gain the weight.”
You know, to look like us mere mortals.
Mark Wahlberg: “A dozen eggs, a dozen pieces of bacon, two steaks and a cup of olive oil for breakfast. It was not fun.”
“Father Stu” hits theaters April 13.
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