Feature for The Truth About Charlie

There's a definite symbolic point being made when Mark Wahlberg assumes a role once played by Cary Grant. That's the case with THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE, the remake of CHARADE, the playful 1965 Audrey Hepburn-Cary Grant romp. It's all about credibility and respect, because Wahlberg manages to bring a solid leading man presence to the role that suggests there are very few roles beyond his grasp.

"This is where you want to be," says Wahlberg. "And this is a film which is one more step in the right direction for me. Most of my life, especially growing up in pretty rough circumstances, has been about searching for respect. And if you want to psychoanalyze that, it's mainly self-respect. That's why I like the idea of changing tracks and trying different genres and different characters - I want to prove I can get my head into any kind of role."

Directed by Jonathan Demme (PHILADELPHIA), THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE sees Wahlberg throw a new twist into the Cary Grant role by adding a working class innocence to the mix in helping co-star Thandie Newton find out who killed her husband and saving her life in the process. The result is a playful series of chases through Paris with more than a passing nod to the original film and to the kinds of Hitchcock thrillers which director Stanley Donen imitated when he shot CHARADE.

But it's Wahlberg's solid performance that holds THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE together, and it's a worthy follow-up to his previous work in PLANET OF THE APES, THREE KINGS, and THE PERFECT STORM. Walhberg earned $10 million for CHARLIE, his second consecutive 8-figure paycheck.

In conversation with the 31-year-old actor, he talked about filming in Paris, his break-up from former girlfriend Jordana Brewster, and building his new home in LA

Q: When you step into a role that Cary Grant once played, does this mean you've made it?

WAHLBERG: I think it means that at least there are some people in Hollywood who believe in me and feel that I have what it takes to bring some credibility to these kinds of roles. It was the same thing with PLANET OF THE APES and playing a part that Charlton Heston made famous. The way I think about it, you have to make audiences trust you in some way. There has to be something the public likes about your personality and performance which carries them with you in the course of the journey your character is taking.

Q: Was it pleasant to be able to live in Paris during last summer's filming of THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE?

WAHLBERG: It was hilarious. The French have this strange attraction and repulsion complex when it comes to Americans. They treat you with a kind of mocking respect when you want to go to a store and buy something or sit at some cafe and order croissants. I had some interesting moments with one or two waiters who I felt were showing me a lack of respect.

Q: You mean the Parisian waiters brought out the Boston street-tough instincts in you?

WAHLBERG: (Laughs) It brought out the "don't be too much of an asshole with me" kind of response. But once you establish the fact that you don't want to be messed with, the waiters learn to respect you.

Q: Was Paris an education in itself?

WAHLBERG: I loved being there. Being in Europe and suddenly being thrown into a foreign culture is an incredible experience. You realize that the world doesn't begin and end with the United States and you experience this incredible sense of stimulation from being with people who share a different culture, different attitudes, and everything.

Q: How did you manage speaking or not speaking French?

WAHLBERG: I hired my own French teacher while I was there and I was studying as much as I could every day on the set. After a few weeks, I felt I could at least order lunch or dinner without making a fool of myself. But it's tough. The accent is very hard to get right and I would have needed an extra two or three months by myself in Paris before I really could have got into the language. But I want to go back someday.

Q: What about an incident at the George V hotel?

WAHLBERG: That was insane. Somehow the hotel got the idea that I was checking out at ten in the morning even though I was supposed to stay there until 6 in the afternoon. I got back to my room and my key card didn't work and so I knocked on the door and found that two maids were throwing all my stuff into bags, they had taken my things out of the safe, and it was awful. So I started screaming and asking them what the hell they were doing and eventually the manager came up with four security guards. It was a pretty nasty situation but I stayed cool, called some people. And the hotel wound up apologizing to me and the hotel chain offered me two free weeks anywhere in the world. I wound up going to Hawaii and lived it up on their tab. So that worked out pretty well.

Q: What did you think about French women? Did you make any new friends as they say?

WAHLBERG: Well, I was pretty busy with the film and I was kind of bummed out because I had broken up with my girlfriend before I left for Paris, so I really wasn't in the greatest frame of mind to start a new relationship. But I did get to meet some interesting women and you definitely learn to appreciate a whole other level of charm and seduction from French girls. It's like being on another planet.

Q: What happened between you and Jordana [Brewster]?

WAHLBERG: It's a long and sad story. Basically I had to go to Paris for this film and that was the worst possible timing in the world. Maybe we would have stayed together if it hadn't been for that but I don't know. We had a good thing together and it's sad that it didn't work out. But sometimes you have to live with those circumstances and say that maybe it wasn't meant to be.

Q: You mean you didn't even have one date with a French girl?

WAHLBERG: I didn't say that. But there was no big romance, unfortunately, because I would have enjoyed that. When we were finished filming, I would love to have fallen in love with someone over there but it didn't happen. That's the problem with relationships. When you're feeling down and out on the personal level, and you really want to meet someone to fill that hole in your heart, you never meet someone. It always happens when you're not looking for it, or at least, it tends to be like that.

Q: What about when you came back to L.A.?

WAHLBERG: L.A. is different. I'm more in my element there and I kind of got back into the singles scene. But I'm still someone who's pretty careful about getting involved in a serious way. I go through a heavy amount of guilt when it comes to one-night stands. That's not my thing and so if I do begin something with a girl, I have to believe that it might lead to a serious relationship. But I'm involved with a girl now and I'm hopeful that there's a future between us... Don't even THINK of asking who she is!

Q: What about making CHARLIE. Were you a big fan of the original CHARADE?

WAHLBERG: What I knew I couldn't do is attempt any kind of Cary Grant style parody. So at least I had the freedom to create my own character along with Jonathan Demme (the director). I tried to invest him with a low-key sensibility, but always holding something back because part of the mystery is not knowing which side I'm really on.

Q: What was it like working with Thandie Newton?

WAHLBERG: She was brilliant. She's got an incredible sense of humour and I think this film will be very big for her career. If you think I had a hard task to follow in Cary Grant's footsteps, Thandie had to play a part Audrey Hepburn made famous.

Q: You've recently finished building your own house in L.A. How was that experience?

WAHLBERG: It was important for me because I had been renting places before or simply going back to Boston and staying with my family. So I worked hard to make it a place where I could feel relaxed and comfortable.

It's a Spanish-style villa and so there's lots of color and earthy influences. It's a lot of work, though, because you have so much freedom and so many choices to make that it can drive you crazy until you just pick a color or design feature and say, "OK, let's do it this way." My mom helped me out a lot and I spent weeks staring at Architectural Digest and all these other magazines which just gave me a headache because there are so many beautiful ways to do the interior that you're not sure which direction you should take. It all worked out pretty well in the end. It's a great house.

Q: Do you feel settled down in terms of your life in general as a Hollywood star?

WAHLBERG: I feel pretty grounded and centred. I feel that I'm at a point in my life where I've got things mapped out and I know what kind of person I am and how I have to live my life.

I feel that God gave me a second chance in life to become a good person and I'm trying to make the most of that. I see things much differently from when I was a teenager and out in the streets living life like I was in perpetual combat. I've changed so much since that time that I almost don't recognize myself anymore from those days. I understand what kind of life I had, what the streets were like, why I got caught up in that lifestyle, but it's very far away now.

Q: Is it true you're building a community centre in Boston to help people get off the streets?

WAHLBERG: I've started a foundation which I'm going to run together with my brother. I'm putting my own money into it and we're also raising a lot of money from people here in L.A. It's going to be a series of facilities that will help give counselling, shelter, and try to help people who want and need to be helped. It's my contribution back to my community.

Q: What do you feel when you reflect on the dangerous lifestyle you used to lead, and the success and you enjoy today?

WAHLBERG: There's a lot of luck and a lot of determination involved in the process. I was lucky in the sense that I never got too far out of control where I would wind up in prison for very long. (Wahlberg served six months in jail when he was 16 - ED) And then I was smart enough to work hard on my music and get away from all the other garbage that had been my life before that. Music saved me and gave me an outlet for all my anger and frustration. Music gave me a decent life and in a few years I had made enough money to give me enough security for the rest of my life. So I made the most of my opportunities and there was no looking back on my previous world.

Q: You also made a decision to give up your rap career and make acting your calling in life?

WAHLBERG: A lot of people thought I was out of my mind when I decided to focus on acting. But that was my dream and I was so sick of the violence in the rap scene that I just wasn't interested in being part of that anymore. Music had been my life and it had changed my life, but I think there was so much of my old life tied into that world that it was driving me crazy that I was repeating a lot of the things which had come from my heart. But my world and my attitude had changed a lot between the ages of 17 and 22, so the anger which was the source of my music wasn't really the same anymore. I had gone through an evolution and I needed to move on from there.

I actually experienced such a relief from making the decision to become an actor that I never thought twice about going back to music. And then when Boogie Nights happened, I knew that I had a future as an actor.

Q: Do you feel any responsibility to young people to maintain a certain kind of clean image now that you're successful?

WAHLBERG: Yes. I think it's important that I show people that you don't have to get involved in crime and drugs to be cool. Prison is not cool, drug addiction is not cool. Violence is not cool. You've got to be mentally strong enough to resist all the temptation and pressure to go down that road.

So whatever I do with my life now it's about showing people that you do have choices and there are possibilities out there to lead a better life. I'm not abandoning who I was or where I came from. I believe it's my duty to help give something back to the community where I grew up. I want to help the kids there stay clean and stay away from trouble. I want to use the opportunities I have to help people.

Q: You seem very calm and serene these days. Is that how you feel?

WAHLBERG: I feel pretty calm, a lot calmer than I've ever been. I think at a certain point in your life it just hits you that you don't have to be angry anymore. Even though you can grow up angry, once you're no longer in a situation that makes you furious at the world, then you have to use your head to stop making you behave as if you have a lot to be angry about.