Mark Wahlberg Worried ‘Boogie Nights’ Would ‘Exploit’ Him: ‘My Agents Kept Pushing Me’

Mark Wahlberg was initially worried that Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights” would come between him and his Calvins.

The actor, whose Marky Mark rap persona was immortalized by a Calvin Klein underwear campaign, recalled being hesitant to sign on to 1997 film “Boogie Nights,” which follows a rising adult film actor in the 1970s San Fernando Valley porn industry. Heather Graham, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, and Burt Reynolds also star in the film.

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“When I first heard about the film, the subject matter was not appealing to me,” Wahlberg told Cigar Aficionado. “I came from the whole Marky Mark thing, pulling down my pants, Calvin Klein underwear — I didn’t know if this was just the next level of exploiting me and now all of a sudden we have to lose the underwear.”

Wahlberg continued, “My agents kept pushing me. So I read the first 25, 30 pages, and I kind of put it down. I was like this could be something great, or this could be absolutely terrible.”

The “Father Stu” actor/producer later said in 2017 that he hoped God would forgive him for playing Dirk Diggler in “Boogie Nights” and that he would not take on a similar role now that he is a father of four.

Later in the Cigar Aficionado interview, Wahlberg addressed why he has emphasized producing in recent years, funding films like “Father Stu” and series “Entourage” and the Emmy-winning “Boardwalk Empire.”

“I started producing out of necessity. 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 said. “If I’m going to be in that position I’d rather be behind the wheel. You’re going 100 miles an hour down the highway, do you want to be in the back seat with no seatbelt or do you want to be behind the wheel?”

He added, “I’m certainly working harder now than ever. Certain businesses, you kind of build them, pass them on or you exit. 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.”

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