Mark Wahlberg Quotations

I've always wanted to be in the health and wellness business. I try to encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle.

I never lie. I believe everything I say, so its not a lie.

I work out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday; take Thursday off; then I work out Friday and Saturday. So sometimes I'll eat whatever I want on Thursday, like a big breakfast of pancakes and bacon and eggs and stuff. You can eat a big, hearty breakfast because you're going to burn off most of it during the day anyway.

I work as hard as anybody will ever work and I like that. That's why I've been successful and that is when I feel good about myself. If I do my damnedest and don't succeed, I feel good about the effort.

Producing suits me because I have a business mind and a business sensibility. I was a street hustler. I did whatever it took. I sold whatever I could sell. I'm a good organiser.

I don't want to let my guard down and feel too comfortable. If you become complacent, you start feeling entitled. I'm ready to go dig ditches if I have to. Whatever I gotta do to provide for my family. Whatever I gotta do to make sure that I do the best possible job at whatever wonderful opportunities I've been handed.

I like to talk to people. I've got one assistant, one Blackberry. That's my overhead. I don't text that much or email. I like to sit down face-to-face and have a conversation with you. I'm old-fashioned.

For me, family always comes first I would do anything to protect them.

There's nothing like seeing the smile on my kids' faces. Laughing together. Playing. It's the best.

In my movies, I'm not trying to erase any old image of myself, really. And also I'm not trying to imitate anyone or follow in their footsteps, because I know, Burt Reynolds was just one of the people that told me this, I know how you can only last in this business if you got something special to offer, just by being yourself.

I did a lot of things that I regretted and I certainly paid for my mistakes. You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't until I really started doing good and doing right, by other people as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a problem going to sleep at night.

Having two daughters changed my perspective on a lot of things, and I definitely have a newfound respect for women. And I think I finally became a good and real man when I had a daughter.

I pray to be a good servant to God, a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a brother, an uncle, a good neighbor, a good leader to those who look up to me, a good follower to those who are serving God and doing the right thing.

And I tell you, having girls has made me a much better man. I have friends who are fathers, but they only have boys, and they have the same attitude toward women they always had, you know? And I don't play that... My girls, you mess with them? I will bury you underground.

The first thing I do when I start my day is, I get down on my hands and knees and give thanks to God. Whenever I go outside of my house, the first thing I do is stop at the church.

But no, I'm not political. My obligation is to pull the lever and elect somebody who's going to make life a little better for everybody, especially those who don't have as much good fortune as others.

A lot of people tend to chew up the scenery. I'm a firm believer in less is more, especially on the big screen.

When I was a rapper, the groupies didn't have to try too hard with me. Just show up at the hotel.

It's all about hustling, whether it's in Boston or the film industry. I've been hustling my entire life - acting my way into trouble and acting my way back out again. I'm just fortunate to have had the opportunity to apply it in a different direction.

I've always wanted to do right in life. But the wanting and the doing aren't quite the same thing.

There aren't really many compliments flying around with me and my friends. It's a lot of tough love. But you know, that love is there, and if you need to have a serious conversation, you just gotta wait for the right time to do it.

I don't wanna hear nobody complain that they're getting paid all this money and people won't leave them alone. It's part of it.

If I succeed in business but fail as a father, then I've failed.

If I can start my day out by saying my prayers and getting myself focused, then I know I'm doing the right thing. That 10 minutes helps me in every way throughout the day.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no job more important on the planet than being a mom.

You know, there's nothing like seeing the smile on my kids' faces. Laughing together. Playing. It's the best.

Being a Catholic is the most important aspect of my life.

I want people to come see my films and enjoy them but at the end of the day you can't control what people think.

The world is very different today than it was in 1968.

James Cagney, Steve McQueen, I loved all those guys. I grew up loving the movies but had no desire to be in them.

Look, if you're driving down the highway at 120 miles an hour, I'd rather be behind the wheel than in the backseat.

It's funny, because when you're younger you're in a rush to be 18 or 21 or whatever. But then you hit 30. And now, the days go by like hours. You think, 40, man, this could be the halfway point. It could be the three-quarters point, you know? Who knows?

A lot of talented actors still have to pay their bills.

Clooney is just a pretty boy, man, and that's it, OK? I carried him on my back long enough. I'm on my own.

I have more money now than I know what to do with.

I've always been into working out and eating healthy. That's just who I am.

Tiger Woods is the only sports star who's worth every penny he makes.

I don't go to Mass every day. But I go to church every day. Just sitting there, thinking - it's a great way to start the morning, you know? You feel so good coming out, and your approach to everything is suddenly really clear.

I love being on sets with very seasoned directors as well as very new directors. Every time is a discovery process. You learn something new every time.

If I don't go to mass, necessarily, every day, but I definitely go to the church every day. That's how I start my day. I like to get in there for about 15 to 20 minutes and say my prayers.

All that running around in my underwear put money in my pockets. I can focus on working in interesting movies without having to worry about supporting myself.

I embrace old age. Look, I'm never going to dunk on LeBron James, and I've learned to accept that. I got a pretty good life, and I'm very fortunate, and I have my blessings.

I have a lot of real life experience that I can draw on. And I think that shows in the characters that I play because I'm always trying to find somebody - or find characters to play that I can identify with on a personal level or relate to. And I think it makes for a little bit more of an honest portrayal.

I've been in enough movies to know that when you're on the set and you start shooting, you're looking at playback and you get a sense of what it's going to be like.

Well every moment, every project is different. I took a very slow approach to acting, trying to really work with people I could learn from. And I got something different out of each experience.

I can always see something of myself in the characters I play.

I'm always friendly and encouraging on set. I want people to be at their best creatively.

As soon as I ended up being incarcerated, I said, you know, this is not the life for me.

I like to do projects I feel some connection to.

The only thing I don't like about acting is that it takes so much time away from my family. Otherwise, I don't have any complaints.

I'm the father of two boys and two girls, so I'm more an emotional wreck than a mushball.

I've always looked at my career as an athlete would look at his: I won't play forever. Some don't know when to walk away, but the smart ones do.

I'm fortunate that my job gives me the motivation to be as fit as possible. I wound up in a profession that requires physical and mental preparation, so I get to prepare like an athlete for everything I do. I'm living the dream, man.

Growing up, I think I was arrested 20-odd times by the Boston police. The good news is that I've been able to use those experiences in a lot of my roles, and that has been a blessing.

Being fit is almost as important to me as my face. And for me, it's a combination of being spiritually and physically fit. There are guys who want to look good, and there are guys who want to perform at their best. Being fit is about being able to perform at your best, not necessarily just looking your best.

I don't plan on ever letting my daughters date. I'm going to try to do everything I can to prevent it. You know, it just terrifies me. It just terrifies me.

I've got a pretty wide range of stuff that I'm interested in in life. But producing it gives me a lot more time at home to spend with my family as opposed to being away on location shooting nights for months at a time.

My sons and I thoroughly enjoy Legos. We go to the toy store every week for more. I never want to take what we build apart; I want to put it on a shelf. My wife is starting to get a little annoyed with the Legos lying around.

When I - when I was going to school, I knew how to read, write, add and subtract and I - I basically said, 'What else do I need? I'm never going to be able to go to college. I'm not going to be able to afford to go to college. I'm not going to be able to get a scholarship.'

I love roles where I am required to prepare physically. And it's fun putting on weight and eating.

I never got on the course with my dad, but to be playing golf with my kids - that's a dream.

The environment I was raised in, you had to, to survive.

I approach a comedy the same way I do a drama. I try to make it as real as possible.

He's a legend and I respect his work, so I went down and paid my respects when Charlton was on the set. He was nice but I think he lied a little. He said it was an honour to be in a movie with me, but I don't believe it.

The success of 'The Fighter' made it a lot easier to get 'Broken City' green-lit. And the buzz about 'The Fighter' also made it a lot easier to get 'Contraband' green-lit.

I would do something similar as past roles if it meant working with a great director. They have so much to offer and I have so much to learn, ... In a perfect world you have the best possible director and talent around you and you get to do something different and challenging.

Which was the only time I kind of blew the whistle and said 'Let's get the guy that looks like me.' But it's an amazing sequence.

was probably five minutes in the car when I threw up all over.

Everybody got sick. George has gotten sick for a couple of days, and I had to go to the hospital. I was breathing in a lot of the dust out there.

prevented him from attending to his usual duties and occupation.

For me, it's really about the director first,

I've gotten to work with some of the best young talent in the business,

I hadn't seen the original, ... It was solely the opportunity to work with the director.

I'm constantly having dreams where I'm incarcerated again or being chased by the police. That's the most horrible dream.

I didn't think it was necessary because I already have a driver's license and I used to drive a tow truck -- but for safety reasons obviously they wanted to get us in there to see what we could do.

I don't like being in the passenger seat when a crazy woman's driving, that's for sure!

Pretty early on in making the first movie I realized that this is what I wanted to do. I felt like by that time I just found my niche, like this is what I was supposed to be doing. So I completely submerged myself into the world of watching movies, making my own movies, buying video cameras and lights. When I wasn't making a movie, I was making my own movies. When I wasn't making movies, I was watching movies. I was going back and studying film and looking back at guys that were perceived as great guys that I can identify with. It just became my life.

You have to take everything I say with a grain of salt.

I always say one of my favorite things about making movies is finishing on that last day because I get to have my life back and let that go, and hopefully have a real sense of accomplishment at the end of it.

It's always been a dream of mine, and a childhood fantasy, to play a great champion. I would much rather haven been an athlete than an actor. This is like some second place consolation prize.

I always tend to like the characters that I play. I'm convinced that I am this person and I'm OK with whatever they do.

I always try to bring a little bit of my own personality to the character, or some sort of personal connection makes it a little bit more of an organic portrayal and the audience can kind of maybe believe it a little bit more. But I always look for something to kind of connect with and identify with, or bring something of myself to the table.

I don't like to eat in movies. I don't like props. Some people have always got to have a thing and they're doing this or doing that. I hate it. I just want to talk or fight. Or both!

Music is my life. The last job I had, I was a bricklayer's apprentice. And I was happy with that job, too, because it was something that made me feel good. To build a wall for the side of a building felt really good to me.

I don't intend to be insensitive to the victims and their families but, at the same time, as an actor, it's our job, and we are obligated to portray the characters in the most realistic way possible.

Every time I do a movie, I'm reading the script, or if it's something I have coming up, I'm reading the script, and I just spend hours and hours and days and weeks and months going over the script and just writing a lot of different ideas down, finding a little dialogue or just coming up with ideas for scenes and moments and all that kind of stuff.

I don't enjoy doing nothing or sitting in my trailer watching ESPN.

That whole world, the world of bodybuilding to me is fascinating. It's such a unique and interesting culture, and everything about it appeals to me.

I love movies that are challenging to me both physically and emotionally and that I have to take a lot of time leading up to it to get into that headspace and live in that headspace throughout the course of the production.

Most of the humor comes from how outrageous the situations and circumstances are.

Movies have kind of become a tad bit uninspired, in that the big studio movies are spending more money to chase the big money with all these franchises and superhero movies. Some of them have been great, but some of them are a little tiresome.

If you're producing a movie you're involved in every aspect of the movie and that can be daunting and then going and doing a movie where you're just an actor for hire, and you can kind of sit back and giggle where you can see somebody sitting over there wasting time and wasting money.

I always root for the bad guy and I don't think you have a great movie without a great villain.

I would definitely like to direct at some point. I've been very fortunate to work with some amazing talent and study them. But when the right time and the right story arrives, and I feel like I'm compelled to tell it, then I'll do that.

When you go into a starring position and you're carrying a movie, it's important that people like it. So I only do things that I can connect with in some sort of way, or that I can identify with.

I approach everything the same. I try to make it as real as possible, whether you gotta make people laugh or make people cry, it's always the same approach for me. But if I start doing pratfalls, somebody please pull the plug on me.

There are guys who want to look good, and there are guys who want to perform at their best. Being fit is about being able to perform at your best, not necessarily just looking your best.

I think the most important thing is to always be involved in every aspect of their life. To give them enough trust that they can share things with you. I don't want them to be terrified of me, you know? But I don't want them to think they can do whatever they want and get away with it, either, because they can't.

I stopped smoking weed for my kids. One day, we were driving and you could smell it from somewhere. My daughter asked what the smell was so I told her it was a skunk. Then she said, 'Sometimes Daddy smells like that!' to me and my wife. So I knew I had to quit.

OK, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry.