After walking a beat in Boston as a foulmouthed but honorable state police sergeant in "The Departed," Mark Wahlberg will take to the silver screen once again on Friday as a retired military sniper.
Wahlberg plays Bob Lee Swagger in the upcoming movie "Shooter," based on the novel "Point of Impact." Swagger, a former Marine sniper living in Wyoming, is pressed back into service to stop an attempt on the president's life, but is double-crossed and suddenly becomes the subject of a nationwide manhunt. Now Swagger is out to clear his name and to seek vengeance on whoever set him up.
Wahlberg has been in numerous film roles, but said Bob Lee Swagger and Sergeant Dignam, from "The Departed," are his favorite characters.
"They're extremely talented and they're good at what they do," Wahlberg said. "Despite any flaws in their personalities, you can tell they're good people."
Wahlberg said the role of Sergeant Dignam has been a breaking point in his career. He has been getting numerous offers for movie deals, but he chose to be in "Shooter" for a specific reason.
"I choose my roles based on what I think people would go to see at the movie theater, and what I would want to see at the movie theater," Wahlberg said.
For some time, Wahlberg said, he was frustrated about the types of movies being offered to him.
Wahlberg wants to go into different movie genres, and said he has plans to do comedy. He also plans to be less involved with movies starting at the age of 40.
"I have two small children, and my attention will have to shift to them," he said.
"But I still hope to make a movie ever year or so."
He has also hinted that his future movie projects may be with Antoine Fuqua, the director of "Shooter," whom he said he enjoyed working with greatly.
As for the character of Bob Lee Swagger himself, Wahlberg said it was a huge transition to make, especially from "The Departed."
"I completely transformed," Wahlberg said. "The physical and mental demands were rigorous, and I was much heavier by production. I did a lot of stunt work, and I actually went to sniper school. I've fired other weapons, but I've never worked with stuff like this. We shot 50-caliber rifles."
According to Wahlberg, "Shooter" will not only try to break away from its source material, "Point of Impact," but it will also try not to glorify the role of a sniper.
"What the sniper position entails can be extremely difficult," Wahlberg said. "There's nothing glorious about it.
" A character-driven story featuring Wahlberg, government conspiracies, sniper rifles and intense shooting sequences will almost certainly draw crowds on Friday. An adrenaline rush is just what students need to keep them going when summer is getting closer.
