Donald Edmond "Donnie" Wahlberg, Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor, and film producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside of music, Wahlberg has had featured roles in the Saw films, The Sixth Sense, Dreamcatcher, and Righteous Kill, also appearing in the World War II miniseries Band of Brothers. From 2002â€"2003, he starred in the well-received but short-lived crime drama Boomtown. He has been starring in the drama series Blue Bloods with Tom Selleck and Bridget Moynahan since 2010, and since 2014 is an executive producer of the TNT reality television show "Boston's Finest". Wahlberg was nominated for Choice Scream at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards for his work in the Saw films.
Early life
Wahlberg was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He is the eighth of nine children, with older siblings Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie (died 2003), and younger brother Mark, the actor who began his entertainment career in the former rap group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He also has three half-siblings from his father's first marriage: Donna, Scott, and Buddy. His mother, Alma Elaine (née Donnelly), was a bank clerk and nurse's aide, and his father, Donald Edmond Wahlberg, Sr. (May 8, 1930 â€" February 14, 2008) was a teamster who worked as a delivery driver; the couple divorced in 1982. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother is of Irish, English, and French Canadian descent. Maternally, Wahlberg is distantly related to author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Career
New Kids on the Block
As a recording artist, Wahlberg is known as an original member of boy band New Kids on the Block. He was a member of the Funky Bunch with his younger brother Mark.
Acting career
Wahlberg's first film acting role was in the 1996 film Bullet with Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur. Also in 1996, he appeared as a kidnapper in Ransom with Mel Gibson. He went back to his home town for a starring role in the South Boston-based film Southie. Wahlberg received attention for his role in the 1999 film The Sixth Sense, playing the patient of Bruce Willis's character in the opening sequence. This role was originally intended for a 13-year-old boy until Wahlberg met with writer and director M. Night Shyamalan to inquire about obtaining the rights for a theatre production, and ended up getting the role.
In 2001, Wahlberg co-starred as Second Lieutenant C. Carwood Lipton in the television miniseries Band of Brothers. Wahlberg also starred in the 2002â€"2003 NBC drama series Boomtown as Joel Stevens, a Los Angeles police detective. Graham Yost, executive producer and writer of Boomtown, had worked with Wahlberg in Band of Brothers and was so impressed by his performance that he wrote the role of Joel Stevens specifically for him.
2003 was the year that Wahlberg starred alongside Timothy Olyphant, Jason Lee, and his Band of Brothers co-star Damian Lewis as the mentally challenged Duddits in William Goldman and Lawrence Kasdan's adaptation of the Stephen King alien-invasion thriller, Dreamcatcher. In 2005, Wahlberg starred as Detective Eric Matthews in the second installment of the Saw series. He reprised the role in Saw III in 2006 and Saw IV in 2007, also appearing in Saw V in 2008 via archive footage from the previous films.
In 2006, Wahlberg also played Lieutenant Commander Burton in the military/boxing drama Annapolis. In September 2006, he played the lead role in the short-lived television drama Runaway on The CW. The show was cancelled in October 2006 due to poor ratings. In 2007, he starred in the television film Kings of South Beach on A&E. Also in 2007, he starred on the TV series The Kill Point.
In 2008, he appeared in Righteous Kill. He also co-starred in What Doesn't Kill You. Wahlberg also appeared in the 2011 comedy Zookeeper.
Wahlberg stars as a detective on CBS's Blue Bloods, a police drama set in New York City.
As of 2011, Wahlberg is the host of an internet radio show on Friday nights at 8Â pm PST called "DDUB's R&B Back Rub" on Cherry Tree Radio.
Personal life
Wahlberg married Kim Fey on August 20, 1999. Wahlberg and Fey filed for divorce on August 13, 2008, citing "irreconcilable differences". The couple have two sons together named Xavier Alexander Wahlberg (born March 4, 1993) and Elijah Hendrix Wahlberg (born August 20, 2001). As of July 2013, it was reported by UsWeekly that Wahlberg was dating actress and comedian Jenny McCarthy after meeting on Watch What Happens Live in March. The couple announced their engagement on The View on April 16, 2014. The two wed on August 31, 2014, at the Hotel Baker in St. Charles, Illinois.
Wahlberg is a passionate fan of the Boston Celtics and has been seen attending many of their games. He narrated a documentary called "The Association: Boston Celtics" about the team's 2010â€"11 season, which aired on ESPN between 2010 and 2011. Also Wahlberg has opened a restaurant in Boston named Wahlburgers with brothers Paul (head chef, third oldest brother) and Mark (actor, youngest brother).
Filmography
Film
Television
Video Games
References
External links
- Donnie Wahlberg at the Internet Movie Database
- Donnie Wahlberg on Twitter
