As one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, the back catalog of Mark Wahlberg's movies shows the amazing success the actor has had on the big screen. It's easy to forget that this impressive movie career started back when Wahlberg was known as hip-hop star Marky Mark, but he made a transition to the big screen more successfully than just about any other musician-turned-actor. Mark Wahlberg's movies show how far he has come, and rooting out the best Mark Wahlberg movie is no easy task.
Mark Wahlberg's movie career is filled with notable roles, from Oscar-nominated performances working for legendary directors to huge action blockbusters to smaller critical darlings. The variety within his career allows him to remain one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood even if some of his movies aren't as well-received. Though Wahlberg suggests he might retire soon, his best movies show that he will leave behind a stellar body of work that has left audiences thrilled, laughing and entertained for decades.
10 Lone Survivor (2013)
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Wahlberg stars as the lead in a film based on a true story in heroic soldiers of Lone Survivor.
9 Instant Family (2018)
- Stream on Paramount+
Mark Wahlberg has starred in many family-friendly films, but Instant Family is considered the best of them. In this 2018 comedy, prospective parents Pete and Ellie, played by Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne, adopt three kids from foster care. While the film does run a bit long at 1 hour 58 minutes, most feel that there are no uninteresting or unnecessary moments. One thing Instant Family does phenomenally is portraying the realities of adoption in an understandable and honest way, without laying tragedy on thickly. Wahlberg plays a great new dad trying to connect with his kids, especially his son. However, things happen, for example when Pete constantly and unintentionally hits his son in the face with a baseball or basketball.
8 The Basketball Diaries (1995)
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The Basketball Diaries was just Wahlberg's second full-length film of his career at 23-years-old. The Basketball Diaries focuses on basketball player Jim Carroll, played by a young Leonardo DiCaprio. However, Wahlberg's character Mickey steals the show in some scenes. Mickey is one of Carroll's good friends but not a great influence. The movie is an intense and often heartbreaking look at how addiction destroyed the lives of some talented young men. The movie is also ed well for helping to establish DiCaprio as a leading man as well as Wahlberg as an actor to watch with the two reuniting over a decade later in the Best Picture winner The Departed.
7 The Other Guys (2010)
- Stream on Peacock
With tough-guy roles and action movies, few people though Wahlberg would be a successful comedic actor. However, The Other Guys proved many doubters wrong as he turned in a performance that was as hilarious and goofy as one of the best comedians in movies. The buddy cop movie pairs Wahlberg and Will Ferrell as rejected New York cops who team to make a big case. This movie from Adam McKay played on action hero tropes, especially with Wahlberg's dim-witted tough guy detective. He and Ferrell make a surprisingly great team while the movie also features Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson and Michael Keaton in excellent ing roles.
6 Patriots Day (2016)
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Like many of his other movies, Wahlberg acted in and help produce the crime drama, Patriots Day. The movie is based on the real events that happened at the 2013 Boston Marathon and the manhunt that ensued after the bombing. Wahlberg plays the main protagonist, Officer Tommy Saunders. Though his role is a fictional character, the movie is filled with real-life characters who played roles in the intense true story with an excellent cast bringing the story to life including John Goodman, Kevin Bacon, and J.K. Simmons. The realism and on-screen visual portrayal of what occurred make it difficult to stomach at times, but this film honors the people that put their lives in harm's way to save others.
5 The Italian Job (2003)
- Stream on Paramount+
Based on the cult classic crime movie of the same name, The Italian Job is a fun and energetic heist movie with a likable cast. The movie centers around a group of expert thieves, led by Wahlberg's savvy career criminal. When one of their own turns on them and takes their stolen gold, they hatch a plan to get their revenge. The Italian Job remake also stars Charlize Theron, Jason Statham. and Edward Norton. Though it doesn't have the same originality and spark of the 1969 movie, it is an entertaining romp that features great characters and some clever action sequences resulting in over $175 million at the box office.
4 Three Kings (1999)
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Mark Wahlberg has had several collaborations with David O. Russell in his career with Three Kings being the first. The war movie stars Wahlberg, George Clooney and Ice Cube as American soldiers during the end of the Gulf War who set out to steal Saddam Hussein's hidden gold stash. The movie has a fun irreverent sense of humor which is performed exceptionally by the talented cast. Russell's stylish direction is also compelling to watch, turning ordinary action sequences into surprising pieces of filmmaking. The movie grossed over $100 million and was one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 1999.
3 The Departed (2006)
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The Martin Scorsese crime thriller Wahlberg steals the show in The Departed as the overly aggressive Sgt. Dignam.
2 The Fighter (2010)
- Stream on Showtime
Winning the bronze medal is Wahlberg's portrayal as former 2000 World Boxing Union Champion Irish American lightweight fighter Micky Ward in The Fighter. The film's story focuses on the beginning of Micky's boxing career and his relationships. There is no shortage of fighting and drama in this movie. Micky is just trying to become a better boxer, but his family is full of problems. Wahlberg gives a reserved performance as Ward who is surrounded by the colorful characters in his life with Melissa Leo as his mother and Christian Bale as his brother, both winning Oscars for their performances. It is an entertaining, funny, and powerful sports drama that was a box-office hit and a Best Picture nominee.
1 Boogie Nights (1997)
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Like The Basketball Diaries, Jack Horner, an iconic Burt Reynolds role, and his quest to improve the industry through a young actor named Eddie Adams, played by Wahlberg. Boogie Nights is a brilliant look at the vibrant and indulgent life of these performers which gradually descends into drug abuse and violence. Paul Thomas Anderson proves himself as a filmmaker to watch kicking off his critically acclaimed career. With a stunning cast that also includes Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Boogie Nights is considered one of the greatest movies of the 1990s.
