Mark Wahlberg reveals secret that shaped his career

Mark Wahlberg says discipline has been the driving force behind both his personal and professional success.

The American actor, 54, made the admission as he reflected on his famed early mornings and intense workout schedule in a recent interview with Extra.

"Discipline has afforded me many wonderful things in my life. It’s a thing that I really attribute to all my success, both personally and professionally … I recommend it to everybody."

Wahlberg also spoke at length of his latest project, Play Dirty, a heist thriller directed by Shane Black, saying he relished the chance to adapt such well-regarded source material with a filmmaker known for sharp humour. 

"To get my own opportunity to take my own swing at it and really do it with somebody like Shane Black who infused a lot more humour … it’s great,” he said. “It was really about the wit, the dialogue, and the twist in the plot—their plan and their heist—that was the most appealing."

Wahlberg, who has starred in hits like Boogie Nights, Planet of the Apes, and The Italian Job, also pointed at the project he’d most like to revisit. 

"If I could play the dad in Fear, I mean, I’ve lived this now with my daughters," he said of the 1996 psychological thriller.

Despite his confidence today, Wahlberg once admitted that taking on the role of Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights left him "terrified." At the time, he was reluctant to take the part because he wanted to distance himself from his image as a then-Calvin Klein model.