Mark Wahlberg sheds kilos for latest movie role in The Gambler

LIKE Matthew McConaughey and many other Oscar-hungry actors before him, Mark Wahlberg has dramatically slimmed down for his latest movie.

UK CLIENTS MUST CREDIT: AKM-GSI ONLY Mark Wahlberg gets to work this afternoon in Los Angeles, where he filmed scenes for his upcoming movie, "The Gambler". The actor looked slim wearing a suit and at one point had to get his belt adjusted by a crew member. Mark filmed a scene with his costar Michael K. Williams in an alleyway, where it looks like Mark's character gets into some trouble. However, in between takes, Mark and Michael had some laughs. Pictured: Mark Wahlberg Ref: SPL693042 030214 Picture by: AKM-GSI / Splash News Splash News and Pictures Los Angeles: 310-821-2666 New York: 212-619-2666 London: 870-934-2666 [e-mail]

LIKE Matthew McConaughey last year and many other Oscar-hungry actors before him, Mark Wahlberg has dramatically slimmed down for his latest movie.

But Wahlberg’s method acting for the crime thriller The Gambler — a remake of the 1974 film starring James Caan as a gambling-addicted literature professor — required more than transforming his body.

As Wahlberg told USA Today, “Forget losing the weight. Being believable as a teacher was one of my greatest challenges and most rewarding.” The guy from a working-class Boston background sat in on university lectures and studied “every literary mention” in the script.

Wahlberg said earlier this year of his transformation: “Losing 60 pounds (27 kilos) was not fun. I was never a happy guy being deprived of food.”

Could the Oscar-baiting move pay off?

It’s hard to tell from the first trailer, released today, though the Best Actor race is notably crowded in a year that includes raved-about performances from Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Keaton, Steve Carell, and Eddie Redmayne (for which the latter two actors underwent even more dramatic physical transformations than Wahlberg).

In a genre flick of this kind, Wahlberg, even with two Oscar nods behind him, seems like a longshot — though his co-star, a bald John Goodman playing a loan shark, seems to be getting a some buzz himself for Best Supporting Actor. In the brief trailer, it’s Goodman who takes centre stage for a menacing monologue that feels inspired by the “F**k you, pay me” speech from Goodfellas.

Mark Wahlberg in a scene from The Gambler.

The film was written by Oscar-winner William Monahan (The Departed), directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and also stars Brie Larson, Jessica Lange, and Michael K. Williams.

To see just how well Wahlberg transformed himself into a literature professor, we’ll have to wait until The Gambler hits Australian cinemas on March 5th.

Wahlberg at the beach back in May.

Wahlberg filming The Gambler in L.A.

This article was written by Aisha Harris from Slate and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.

Mark Wahlberg looks nothing like his usual, buff self in The Gambler.