Mark Wahlberg has been acting for a long time, and based on what the actor is saying, possibly too long even. The actor is celebrating the 30th anniversary of his first acting role in the 1993 TV thriller The Substitute by discussing retirement.
While celebrating a significant milestone, Wahlberg reflected on his career and how much longer he will be acting. According to the actor, he doesn’t think that he will be acting “that much longer.” The Transformers and Max Payne star talked about the demands of having a family and his desire to explore other aspects of the movie industry as his reasons for retiring from acting.
“Well, I’m certainly working harder now than ever,” Wahlberg said in an interview with Cigar Aficionado. “Certain businesses, you kind of build them, pass them on or you exit. Hopefully my kids, we’ll see what their interests are, but I don’t think that I’ll be acting that much longer at the pace I am now. That’s for sure. Because that’s the most difficult thing.”
The actor touched on becoming a movie producer and said that it was something he had to do out of necessity. Walhberg had a proactive approach to projects, finding material he could turn into films. “I started becoming a producer out of necessity,” Wahlberg explained.
I didn’t want to sit around waiting for Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise or whoever was already established before me and were the guys at the time, and Leo [DiCaprio] to go and pass on a movie until I could get my hands on it. I was always proactive in trying to find material and things that I could produce, that I knew was right for me, create my own destiny.”
Wahlberg isn’t the only A-list actor thinking about retiring early, or at the very least taking a breather. Oppenheimer star Emily Blunt has previously opened up about taking a break from acting to spend time with her family.
“This year, I’m not working. I worked quite a bit last year and my oldest baby is nine, so we’re in the last year of single digits,” Blunt said earlier this year. “And I just feel [like] there are cornerstones to their day that are so important when they’re little. And it’s, ‘Will you wake me up? Will you take me to school? Will you pick me up? Will you put me to bed? And I just need to be there for all of them for a good stretch. And I just feel that in my bones.”
On the flip side, Mission: Impossible actor Tom Cruise doesn’t plan on calling it a career anytime soon. Cruise shared that he aspires to be able to continue playing as Ethan Hunt well into his 80s similar to Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones.
Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going. I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him,” Cruise said. “I hope to keep making ‘Mission: Impossible’ films until I’m his age.”
