The Peter Berg-directed film Lone Survivor tells the true story of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and the failed special ops mission Operation: Redwing. The mission was to neutralize a powerful Taliban operative in Afghanistan but things went awry and several soldiers were killed.
Mark Wahlberg plays Luttrell in the movie and he revealed just how demanding the role was for him.
“When I first heard about it and Pete asked me to do it, I said ‘Wow, what a great opportunity to play a kind of showy part,'” the Oscar-nominated actor shared. “Then when I read it and realized what it really entailed and what it was about, my perspective changed. It was never about me again. It was about the guys we were portraying and every single person both in front and behind the camera felt the same thing. it was a very unique set of circumstances that I’ve never experienced as an actor before on a film.”
“Even when watching the film, I didn’t think about what we did, I thought about those guys and what Marcus endured; to be able to survive and tell the story of his brothers,” he added. “That was a very special thing and I’m really proud to be a part of it and embraced by the SEAL community as a whole. Not only them but everybody who’s suffered loss.”
Wahlberg had the benefit of having his family on location with him while they were shooting in New Mexico. But the star was always aware of how different the Navy SEALs’ experience was as compared to shooting a film.
“It’s really interesting to hear Marcus and those guys talk about when they go home to their families and they can’t discuss what they do,” he explained. “And it’s just like trying to shut off where they just came from–some special mission or special op and now they’re at home and they’re taking their kids to school or helping your wife make dinner. But its always comforting to have your family there. Absolutely. They’re here now. I asked them if they wanted to come up and they said “Daddy, your job is so boring.”
