- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- The Glimpse Group Regains Compliance with NASDAQ
- Sokoman Minerals Completes Phase 1 Diamond Drilling Program Fleur de Lys Gold Project, NW Newfoundland
- Canadian Government Provides C$100 Million Financing LOI to Green Technology Metals in Support of Electric Royalties' Flagship Lithium Royalty Asset in Ontario
- Sendero Resources Announces First Tranche Closing of Its Non-Brokered Private Placement
- EVSX Completes Installation of Multi Chemistry Line
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 24
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- NBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst
- Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN
- Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Man Utd boss Amorim questions 'choices' of Rashford's entourage
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- Is he serious? Trump stirs unease with Panama, Greenland ploys
- England captain Stokes to miss three months with torn hamstring
RIO | -0.19% | 59.115 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.88% | 23.6927 | $ | |
NGG | -0.57% | 58.685 | $ | |
BTI | -0.06% | 36.2 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.17% | 59.8 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.28% | 7.25 | $ | |
RELX | 0.28% | 45.717 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.88% | 23.345 | $ | |
VOD | 1.06% | 8.46 | $ | |
BP | 0.1% | 28.78 | $ | |
SCS | -0.39% | 11.605 | $ | |
BCC | 0.43% | 122.765 | $ | |
JRI | 0.35% | 12.143 | $ | |
BCE | 0.46% | 22.945 | $ | |
GSK | -0.19% | 33.995 | $ | |
AZN | -0.6% | 66.235 | $ |
Mark Wahlberg piles on the pounds as boxer-turned-priest
Mark Wahlberg has a famously punishing physical routine that has kept the 50-year-old in enviable shape.
But for his latest outing, "Father Stu," he had to ditch the training and eat. A lot.
"Porterhouse steaks, baked potatoes, a dozen eggs every morning, a dozen pieces of bacon, two bowls of white rice, a glass of olive oil," he tells AFP.
"Lots of high protein for the first two weeks; second two weeks, we had lots of starch. And then the last two weeks, we had lots of sodium to kind of get the bloating effect, but not fun at all."
The physical transformation from taut athlete to out-of-shape and overweight was in aid of his role as Stuart Long, an amateur boxer who hangs up his gloves after an injury and moves to Hollywood to become an actor.
Odd-jobbing in a supermarket, Long meets Carmen, played by Teresa Ruiz ("Narcos"), and sets out to win her heart by going to her church.
His avowed agnosticism gives way to genuine faith, and he decides he will become a priest, despite the skepticism of his parents, played by Jacki Weaver (Oscar-nominated for "Silver Linings Playbook") and Mel Gibson ("Braveheart").
He must also face his biggest challenge: a diagnosis of a degenerative disease that will rob him of the use of his body.
For Wahlberg, who also produced the movie, the real-life story of "Father Stu" is a departure from previous action outings like "Mile 22" and "Uncharted" -- but, he insists, not unexpected.
"It's an unusual role, but it's also (a) pretty obvious choice if you kind of know me and my own personal journey and what I'm looking to do as I get older and try to find things that have a little bit more meaning and purpose," he told AFP.
"But I always felt like I was... tasked to do it for a reason.
"This is for God's greater good and so to do that, and utilize my talents and gifts for that particular purpose is something that I embraced," he said.
- Reflection of community -
Along with its unabashedly religious theme -- the film will be released in the United States ahead of the Easter Weekend -- "Father Stu" also zooms in on family, and on human kindness.
For Ruiz, these elements all came together in her character.
"I liked that she was very kind and very generous and she had a very rooted faith," Ruiz said.
"That was something that I've seen in my community, it's something that I've seen in my mother, so I really enjoyed being able to portray that for a worldwide audience."
The cast of "Father Stu," which also includes Malcolm McDowell ("A Clockwork Orange"), afforded Ruiz the chance to work alongside a different generation of actors -- at close quarters.
"My camper was right next to Mel (Gibson's) camper. So sometimes I would peek and hear him, how he prepped and that was very important to me as a young actor, you know, to hear how one of the greats works.
"And then I would go on set with him and it was just this presence that he has, and his incredible talent."
For Weaver, Wahlberg was one of the biggest revelations of the project.
"I thought he might be a bit of a ruffian, because he always played those tough roles," the Australian told AFP.
"But he's a wonderful person."
P.Costa--AMWN