Donald Edward "Donnie" Wahlberg, Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor and film producer. He is a member of the popular 1980s and 1990s
boy bandA boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
New Kids on the BlockNew Kids on the Block are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and...
. His work background includes music, feature films, and television. Donnie has had featured roles in the Saw films,
The Sixth SenseThe Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear , a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him...
, Boomtown and
Righteous KillRighteous Kill is a 2008 crime thriller film with elements of a buddy cop film directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Righteous Kill also features John Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson...
, also appearing in the award-winning World War II miniseries Band of Brothers. He is also known for currently starring in the critically acclaimed drama series
Blue BloodsBlue Bloods is an American police procedural/drama series on CBS, filmed on location in New York City. The show premiered on September 24, 2010, with episodes airing on Fridays at 10:00 pm Eastern and Pacific/9:00 PM Central and Mountain....
. Donnie was nominated for Choice Scream at the 2008
Teen Choice AwardsThe Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
for his work on the Saw films.
Early life
Wahlberg was born in the
DorchesterDorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
neighborhood of
Boston, MassachusettsBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, as the eighth of nine children, with older siblings Arthur, Jim, Paul Wahlberg,
RobertRobert G. Wahlberg is an American actor. He has appeared in such films as Southie, Mystic River, and The Departed.-Early life:...
, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie (died 2003) and younger sibling
Mark WahlbergMark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
. He also has three half-siblings from his father's first marriage- Donna, Scott and Buddy. His mother, Alma Elaine (née Donnelly), was a bank clerk and nurse's aide, and his father, Donald Edward Wahlberg (died 2008) was a
teamsterA teamster, in modern American English, is a truck driver. The trade union named after them is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters , one of the largest unions in the United States....
who worked as a delivery driver; the couple divorced in 1982. He is of Irish, English, Swedish, and French Canadian ancestry. His Favourite animal is a platypus.
New Kids on the Block
As a recording artist, Wahlberg is known as an original member of boy band New Kids on the Block.
Acting career
Wahlberg's first film acting role was in the
1996 filmMajor releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
Bullet with
Mickey RourkePhilip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
and
Tupac ShakurTupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
. Also in 1996, he appeared as a kidnapper in Ransom with
Mel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
. Wahlberg received attention for his role in the
1999 filmThe year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
The Sixth SenseThe Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear , a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him...
, playing the patient of
Bruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
's character in the opening sequence. This role was originally intended for a 13-year-old boy until Wahlberg met with writer and director
M. Night ShyamalanManoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
to inquire about obtaining the rights for a theatre production, and ended up getting the role.
In 2001, Wahlberg co-starred as
Second LieutenantSecond lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
C. Carwood Lipton in the television
miniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Band of Brothers. Wahlberg also starred in the 2002–2003
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
drama series Boomtown as Joel Stevens, a Los Angeles police detective.
Graham YostGraham John Yost is a Canadian film and television screenwriter. His most famous works are the hit 1994 film Speed, Broken Arrow, and Hard Rain....
, executive producer and writer of Boomtown, had worked with Wahlberg in Band of Brothers and was so impressed by his performance that he wrote the role of Joel Stevens specifically for him.
2003 was the year that Wahlberg starred alongside
Timothy OlyphantTimothy David Olyphant is an American actor whose notable roles in television drama series include Deadwood as Seth Bullock, Justified as Raylan Givens, The Office as Danny Cordray, and Damages as Wes Krulik...
,
Jason LeeJason Michael Lee is an American actor and skateboarder known for his role as the title character on the NBC television series My Name is Earl, his portrayal of Syndrome in the film The Incredibles, his role as Dave Seville in the Alvin and the Chipmunks films, and his work with director Kevin...
, and his
Band of BrothersBand of Brothers is a 2001 ten-part, 11-hour television World War II miniseries based on the book of the same title written by historian and biographer Stephen E. Ambrose. The executive producers were Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who had collaborated on the World War II film Saving Private Ryan...
co-star
Damian LewisLewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
as the
mentally challengedDevelopmental disability is a term used in the United States and Canada to describe lifelong disabilities attributable to mental or physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18. It is not synonymous with "developmental delay" which is often a consequence of a temporary illness or trauma during...
Duddits in
William GoldmanWilliam Goldman is an American novelist, playwright, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
and
Lawrence KasdanLawrence Edward "Larry" Kasdan is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah , an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores.His Brother is the writer/producer Mark...
's adaptation of the
Stephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
alien-invasion thriller,
DreamcatcherDreamcatcher is a 2003 film adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. It was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, and co-written by Kasdan and screenwriter William Goldman...
. In 2005, Wahlberg starred as Detective Eric Matthews in the
second installmentSaw II is a 2005 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and co-written by Bousman and the first film's co-writer Leigh Whannell. It is a sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the seven-part Saw film series...
of the Saw series. He reprised the role in
Saw IIISaw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
in 2006 and
Saw IVSaw IV is a 2007 Canadian-American horror film and midquel to 2006's Saw III. It was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by newcomers Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton. The film was released in North America on October 26, 2007...
in 2007, also appearing in
Saw VSaw V is a 2008 Canadian-American horror film directed by David Hackl and written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor and Scott Patterson...
in 2008 via archive footage from the previous films.
In 2006, Wahlberg also played Lieutenant Commander Burton in the military/boxing drama,
AnnapolisAnnapolis is a 2006 drama film directed by Justin Lin and starring James Franco, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Donnie Wahlberg, Roger Fan, and Chi McBride. The film revolves around Jake Huard, a young man who dreams of one day attending the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland...
. In September 2006, he played the lead role in the short-lived television drama Runaway on
The CWThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
. The show was cancelled in October 2006 due to poor ratings. In 2007, he starred alongside
Jason GedrickJason Gedrick is an American actor best known for his work on the television series Murder One and Boomtown and the motion picture Iron Eagle....
, Ricardo Chavira, and
Nadine VelazquezNadine Velazquez is an American actress and model known for her role as Catalina Aruca on My Name Is Earl.-Early life:...
in the television film
Kings of South BeachKings of South Beach is a film written by Nicholas Pileggi about an infamous operator of nightclubs in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, Florida. The lead character is portrayed by Jason Gedrick and his best friend is portrayed by Donnie Wahlberg...
on
A&EThe A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
. Also in 2007, he starred opposite John Leguizamo on the TV series
The Kill PointThe Kill Point is a television series that follows a group of U.S. Marines recently returned from serving in Iraq as they come together to pull off a major bank heist of a Three Rivers Bank branch in Pittsburgh. The series, produced by Mandeville Films and Lionsgate Television, is the first drama...
.
In 2008, he appeared in
Righteous KillRighteous Kill is a 2008 crime thriller film with elements of a buddy cop film directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Righteous Kill also features John Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson...
co-starring
Robert De NiroRobert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
and
Al PacinoAlfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
. He also co-starred in What Doesn't Kill You with
Ethan HawkeEthan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
,
Mark RuffaloMark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...
and
Amanda PeetAmanda Peet is an American actress, who has appeared on film, stage, and television. After studying with Uta Hagen at Columbia University, Peet began her career in television commercials, and progressed to small roles on television, before making her film debut in 1995...
.
Wahlberg currently stars as a detective on CBS's
Blue BloodsBlue Bloods is an American police procedural/drama series on CBS, filmed on location in New York City. The show premiered on September 24, 2010, with episodes airing on Fridays at 10:00 pm Eastern and Pacific/9:00 PM Central and Mountain....
, a police drama set in New York City. The show, which also stars
Tom SelleckThomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
and
Bridget MoynahanKathryn Bridget Moynahan , best known as Bridget Moynahan, is an American model and actress. After graduating from Longmeadow High School in 1989, Moynahan pursued a career in modeling. She was signed by a modeling agency, which led her to appear in department store catalogs and the covers of...
, airs Fridays at 10 pm EST.
Currently, Donnie is the host of an internet radio show on Friday nights at 8 pm PST called "DDUB's R&B Back Rub" on Cherry Tree Radio.
Personal life
Wahlberg married Kim Fey on August 20, 1999. He has two children with Fey, Xavier Alexander Wahlberg (born March 4, 1993) and Elijah Hendrix Wahlberg (born August 20, 2001). Wahlberg and Fey filed for divorce on August 13, 2008 citing "irreconcilable differences" and he is currently single. He is one of the "famous faces" due to being a regular player on the
online pokerOnline poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
website Hollywood Poker which is run in conjunction with Ongame Network.
Wahlberg is a passionate fan of the
Boston CelticsThe Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
and has been seen attending many of their games. He will be narrating a documentary called "The Association: Boston Celtics" about the team's 2010–11 season, which is set to air on ESPN between 2010 and 2011.
Filmography
- Bullet (1996) as "Big Balls" (street name) Shelby Horne
- Ransom (1996) as Cubby Barnes
- Black Circle Boys (1996) as Greggo
- Body Count
Body Count is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1990. The group is fronted by rapper and actor Ice-T, who founded the group out of his interest in heavy metal music, taking on the role of vocalist and writing the lyrics for most of the group's songs. Lead guitarist...
(1996) as Booker
- Butter (1998) as Rick Damon
- The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a 1998 American television movie directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and starring Edward James Olmos. It is a television adaptation of the novel of the same name by Morton Freedgood , and is a remake of the original 1974 film adaptation...
(1998) (TV) as Mr. Grey
- Southie
Southie is a 1999 American film directed by John Shea and starring Donnie Wahlberg. The film centers on Danny Quinn who returns home to South Boston from New York City and gets stuck between his friends, who are supported by one Irish gang, and his family, which are members of another...
(1998) as Danny Quinn
- Purgatory (1999), as Deputy Glen/Billy The Kid
- The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear , a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him...
(1999), as Vincent Grey
- The Practice
The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...
(2000) (TV) (1 episode, "Settling") as Patrick Rooney
- Bullfighter (2000), as Chollo
- Diamond Men
Diamond Men is a 2000 film, a crime drama starring Robert Forster and Donnie Wahlberg. The independent film was written and directed by Dan Cohen, and was screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October 2000...
(2000), as Bobby Walker
- Big Apple
"The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sports writer for the New York Morning Telegraph...
(2001) (TV) (7 episodes) as Chris Scott
- Triggermen (2002), as Hitman Terry Mulloy
- Band of Brothers (2001), television miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
, as 101st Airborne second lieutenant Carwood LiptonSecond Lieutenant Clifford Carwood Lipton was a commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. Lipton was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Donnie Wahlberg...
- Dreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher is a 2003 film adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. It was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, and co-written by Kasdan and screenwriter William Goldman...
(2003), as Douglas "Duddits" Cavell
- Boomtown (2002–2003), television series, as Detective Joel Stevens
- 50 First Dates
50 First Dates is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal and written by George Wing. The film stars Adam Sandler as a woman-chasing veterinarian and Drew Barrymore as an amnesiac, along with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd.Most of the film...
(2004) as Vincent Grey (cameo)
- Saw II
Saw II is a 2005 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and co-written by Bousman and the first film's co-writer Leigh Whannell. It is a sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the seven-part Saw film series...
(2005), as Detective Eric Matthews
- Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (2005), as Randall Ipswitch
- Annapolis
Annapolis is a 2006 drama film directed by Justin Lin and starring James Franco, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Donnie Wahlberg, Roger Fan, and Chi McBride. The film revolves around Jake Huard, a young man who dreams of one day attending the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland...
(2006), as Burton
- Runaway (2006), (TV series), as Paul Rader
- The Path to 9/11
The Path to 9/11 was a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television from September 10 – 11, 2006, and also in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks.The film...
(2006), television miniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
, as Detective Kirk
- Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
(2006), as Detective Eric Matthews
- Kings of South Beach
Kings of South Beach is a film written by Nicholas Pileggi about an infamous operator of nightclubs in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, Florida. The lead character is portrayed by Jason Gedrick and his best friend is portrayed by Donnie Wahlberg...
(2007), as Detective Andy
- Dead Silence
Dead Silence is a 2007 horror film, directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, the creators of Saw...
(2007), as Detective Jim Lipton
- Saw IV
Saw IV is a 2007 Canadian-American horror film and midquel to 2006's Saw III. It was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by newcomers Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton. The film was released in North America on October 26, 2007...
(2007), as Detective Eric Matthews
- The Kill Point
The Kill Point is a television series that follows a group of U.S. Marines recently returned from serving in Iraq as they come together to pull off a major bank heist of a Three Rivers Bank branch in Pittsburgh. The series, produced by Mandeville Films and Lionsgate Television, is the first drama...
(2007), (TV series), as Detective Horst Cali
- Turok (video game) (2008), as Shepherd
- Righteous Kill
Righteous Kill is a 2008 crime thriller film with elements of a buddy cop film directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Righteous Kill also features John Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson...
(2008), as Detective Ted Reily
- What Doesn't Kill You (2008), as Detective Moran
- 1 1/2 Ritter (2008), as singer
- In Plain Sight
In Plain Sight is an American dramatic television series on USA Network. The series revolves around Mary Shannon , a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office of the Federal Witness Security Program , more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program...
(episode one, season 3) (TV series) (2010)
- Rizzoli & Isles
Rizzoli & Isles is a TNT television series starring Angie Harmon as police detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles. The one-hour drama is based on the Rizzoli & Isles series of novels by Tess Gerritsen...
(2 episodes) (TV Series) (2010)
- Zookeeper
Zookeeper is a 2011 comedy film starring Kevin James, and featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Nick Nolte, Don Rickles, Judd Apatow, Jon Favreau, Cher and Faizon Love. The film contains computer animation, is produced by Sandler's production company, Happy Madison, and is...
(2011) as Shane
- Blue Bloods
Blue Bloods is an American police procedural/drama series on CBS, filmed on location in New York City. The show premiered on September 24, 2010, with episodes airing on Fridays at 10:00 pm Eastern and Pacific/9:00 PM Central and Mountain....
(TV Series) (2010 – present), as Detective Daniel "Danny" Reagan
External links