American actor and devout catholic Mark Wahlberg says that religion is not popular in Hollywood, but he can’t deny his faith as ‘it’s an even bigger sin.’
Known for his movies like Uncharted, Ted, Father Stu, Shooter, Infinite, Daddy’s Home, Boogie Night, and Pain & Gain – the 51-year-old actor said that Hollywood has disregarded religion.
During a recent appearance on the Today Show, Wahlberg talked about his faith and how it has disciplined him.
“That discipline has afforded me so many other things,” he said.
“I want to share that with people. So whether that’s with fasting, working out more, detaching from other things, and just spending more time with God in prayer or in thoughtful reflection and those things are important.”
He was wearing an Ash cross on his forehead to mark Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent on the Christian calendar.
“[Faith] is everything, it’s afforded me so many things. God didn’t come to save the saints. He came to save the sinners…We want to be better versions of ourselves, and through focusing my faith, it’s allowed me to do that,” he told host, Savannah Guthrie.
The ted star said that it’s all about the perfect balance between faith and professionalism.
“I don’t want to jam it down anybody’s throat, but I do not deny my faith,” he continued. “That’s an even bigger sin. You know, it’s not popular in my industry, but, you know, I cannot deny my faith. It’s important for me to share that with people. I have friends from all walks of life and all different types of faiths and religions, so you know, it’s important to respect and honor them as well.”
Insisting that religion and faith are not popular in the industry and most people don’t care, Mark said he cannot deny his faith.
“You know, it’s not popular in my industry, but I cannot deny my faith. It’s important for me to share that with people. But, I have friends from all walks of life and all different types of faiths and religions, so it’s important to respect and honor them as well.”
The actor has always been known for his strong catholic faith and for standing firm on his values.
During one of his previous interviews, Mark revealed that playing the character of a porn star in his film, Boogie Nights was not contrary to his religious values.
According to Variety, “Wahlberg also spent “millions and millions” of his own money to get his 2022 religious drama “Father Stu” made. The drama tells the true story of Stuart Long, an amateur boxer who becomes a Catholic priest while suffering from inclusion body myositis.”
Last year he told Insider that he slipped the script to a number of people and thought they would be impressed but that didn’t happen.
“I slipped the script to a couple of people that I thought maybe would get it, and they didn’t. And obviously, it’s subjective. You have your own feeling of what the material is. Some people thought it was depressing because he’s sick at the end. They didn’t see the heart and the emotion and, ultimately, how inspiring it is.”
“Let’s just say I put millions and millions of dollars into the film — and then incurring other costs because we went over schedule in production,” he told the outlet.
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Sources: Today Show – Variety – Insider
