MikeLigalig.com

By Ruben V. Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer

LOS ANGELES—Mark Wahlberg plays boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward in the coming film “The Fighter.” Who did he study to come across as a convincing pugilist? Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao.

“I would love for Manny to see the movie,” Mark said of the biopic drama about Mickey and his Rocky-like rise to the world light welterweight title in the mid-1980s. “The Fighter,” directed by David O. Russell, co-stars Christian Bale as Dickie Eklund, who helped train his brother.

As part of his research for the role, Mark, a friend of Manny’s, observed Pacman whenever he was training in LA. “I would go to the gym to study Manny all the time,” the actor said in an interview at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun, Mexico. “Every time he was training at Wild Card Gym, I watched him because my whole approach was, I wanted to look like a Manny Pacquiao-caliber fighter. I didn’t want to look like another actor who’s doing an okay job. Manny is the best in the world. Who better to learn from?”

Mark added that he wanted the film’s set to look like the real deal: “We used the HBO cameras that shoot pay-per-view events. We went in there and we really did it. We really fought and it was not fun. I still thank God to this day that I got out without any real injuries.”

“The Fighter” will not be shown until the awards season in December. But in the meantime, Mark took a break from dramatic roles by acting opposite Will Ferrell in “The Other Guys.” The two play mismatched, second-string New York cops (the city’s star police officers are portrayed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson).

Mark is a macho detective with a short fuse while Ferrell is nerdy, whose idea of action is doing paperwork on his desk. The two play it straight, resulting in amusing arguments about a lion fighting a tuna, for example. Not a few critics commented that Mark seems to be parodying his humorless detective in “The Departed.”

Will’s geeky Allen Gamble is totally oblivious of the seductive beauty of his wife, played by Eva Mendes who makes fun of her sexy image. Mark’s Terry Hoitz is incredulous that his partner is married to such a stunner and lusts after her.

“The Other Guys,” which has already grossed over $100 million at the box office, is Will’s first team- up with director Adam McKay since their “Talladega Nights,” “Anchorman” and “Step Brothers.”

Mark explained why it took so long for him to be in a comedy: “I’ve always wanted to do a comedy but coming from a dramatic background, if you do a comedy and you don’t do a good job or the movie’s not good, you won’t get a chance to do another one. So I was very patient in finding the right thing and very particular about which one I choose. Actually, it chose me. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay asked me to go to dinner with them. They said we want to do a movie with you. I said, ‘I’m in.’ They said, ‘Well, don’t you want to hear the idea?’ I said, ‘I don’t need to. I trust you guys completely.’

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