Actor Mark Wahlberg spent more money on training for his upcoming role in the low-budget film The Fighter then he actually took home. Wahlberg accepted a serious pay cut to portray real life boxer ‘Irish’ Mickey Ward in the biopic — gambling that it will take off at the box office.
By the time the film was finished, the actor had shelled out $500,000 from his own pocket to have a boxing ring built in his back yard and for the personal trainers who traveled with him.
The added cost was well worth it because he got buff AND picked up a Golden Globe nomination for his role in The Fighter. The film is also nominated in the Best Picture (Drama) category.
Mark and his co-star Christian Bale appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated — one of the few non-sports figures ever to grace the front of the magazine. Bale plays Mark’s crack-head brother who is in and out of trouble.
The film will appear in theaters beginning December 17, 2010.
Watch the trailer below: