Mark Wahlberg’s kids haven’t seen his racy film "Boogie Nights" — or have they?
“I think my daughter has but she has not had the conversation with me,” the actor and father of four told Ellen DeGeneres on Tuesday. “Thank god, she’s sparing me.”
Wahlberg is married to model Rhea Durham and the two share daughters Ella, 18, and Grace, 12, plus sons Michael, 16, and Brendan, 13.
The 1997 Oscar-nominated "Boogie Nights" follows 1970s Los Angeles restaurant worker Eddie, played by Wahlberg, who becomes an adult film star named Dirk Diggler. The film is perceived as Wahlberg’s breakout performance, but in 2017, he admitted that another sexualized role wouldn’t be the best choice for his family.
“So, I don’t want to compromise my artistic integrity or choices based on my faith or my family, but I also have other things to consider, and being a little bit older and a little wiser, the idea of having to explain that movie and the reason behind it to my kids is another issue,” he told People. When DeGeneres asked whether Wahlberg would resuscitate his former rap career as Marky Mark (part of the Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch group), the answer was yes “for the right cause.” But he said his children might not be ready for it.
“They haven’t seen me — they’ve seen videos of me performing and they’re mortified,” said Wahlberg. “Like if they see the picture of me in the underwear, oh my god. They’d be so embarrassed.”
“My son has just recently turned 16...and he gets embarrassed by everything that I do,” he continued. “Even the stuff that other people think is like, cool in 2022, like movies and stuff. ‘Dad that’s so dumb. Dad that’s terrible.’”
Wahlberg’s harshest reviews come at home. He told DeGeneres that while some of his kids enjoyed “Uncharted” — the 2022 film in which he plays treasure hunter Victor Sullivan — they did submit creative notes, such as “‘Dad, why didn’t you play the main character?’”
He said his kids saw a rough cut of “Father Stu” which was “too much” for one, but they enjoyed 2007’s “Transformers: Age of Distinction." His 2012 appearance in “Ted” was off-limits to his kids in 2012, a decision made by Durham, for its R-rating.
“They’re not my biggest fans,” he joked.