Uncharted is a prequel to and an origin story of the wildly popular video game, chronicling the adventures of treasure hunter Nathan Drake and his mentor, Victor “Sully” Sullivan.
“Finally, I get a call and they’re like, ‘We’re ready to make Uncharted.’ And I’m like, ‘Cool, who else are we going to get—it was always a two-hander—and they say, ‘Tom Holland.’ ”
Yep, in the 10 years that passed since first signing on, Wahlberg had aged out of the younger Nathan role and thus was cast as “the old guy.”
The news turned out to be good. All those action flicks that require Wahlberg to put on pounds of muscle and be subjected to NFL-level stunt trauma have taken a toll on his body. “Being cast as Sully, I realized Holland can do the drowning and falling out of airplanes scenes and I can do the mastermind thing, barking orders from a helicopter.” It’s art imitating life as the 50-year-old has taken on the role of Boss Man IRL.
“I got the bug, you know? I got the bug for business,” Wahlberg says with a sly smile in the trailer of Wahl Street, which debuted last April. Throughout the six episodes, viewers ride shotgun with the entrepreneur and his orbiting entourage of business associates as they attempt to get several wobbly ventures off the ground. The show doesn’t have the same level of action as Lone Survivor or the laughs of The Other Guys, but it is entertaining to have a backstage pass into the struggles and successes of Wahlberg’s life.
Art Streiber
The headaches and challenges are numerous. Wahlburgers, the burger chain he runs with brothers Paul and Donnie, has staffing, service and quality control issues. He dismisses the first batch of samples for his apparel company, Municipal, like so many Kohl’s rejects. And even though he’s lent his considerable endorsement power to the fitness chain F45 Training, the corporate office is yanking his chain. As you watch Wahlberg navigate crisis after crisis with equanimity, you start half-wondering if he might lose it. Then the pandemic hits and all his businesses go on life support. Which endeavors fail and which survive? Season 2 comes out this summer, but spoiler alert: Wahlberg is no dummy when it comes to making money.