Profile of Donnie Wahlberg on Famous Like Me

Donnie Wahlberg (born August 17, 1969, Dorchester, Massachusetts) is an actor and was a member of the 1980s boy band New Kids on the Block. He is the brother of fellow actor Mark Wahlberg. With a background that includes music, feature films, and television, Donnie Wahlberg has shown his versatility by transforming himself from a teen pop sensation to a noteworthy and critically acclaimed dramatic actor.

Born near Boston as the eighth of nine children, Wahlberg began performing in plays and banging on pots and pans as early as the first grade. In high school, he attended a fledgling arts program and became involved in theatre, acting, writing, and directing plays. At age 14, Wahlberg started a band, and in a few years they went from playing at high school parties to becoming the pop music sensation New Kids on the Block. At the height of New Kids' popularity, Wahlberg made a decision to go in another direction, focusing on writing and producing for his younger brother, Mark.

Acting

As an actor, Donnie Wahlberg's first film appearance was in the 1996 film Bullet with Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur, a project that lit a spark in him, motivating him to continue to work on his craft. Also in 1996, he appeared as a kidnapper who is in over his head in Ransom with Mel Gibson. Wahlberg received attention for his role in the 1999 film The Sixth Sense, playing the distraught 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 this pivotal role.

In 2001 Wahlberg co-starred as 2nd Lt. C. Carwood Lipton in the Emmy Award-winning television miniseries Band of Brothers. Wahlberg also starred in the 2002–2003 NBC drama series Boomtown as Joel Stevens, an intense Los Angeles police detective struggling to keep his troubled home life private while remaining dedicated to facing the challenges of his daily work life. 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.

Personal

Wahlberg is a body art enthusiast; he has had his left ear pierced four times, as well as piercings in his left nostril and his left nipple. He also has a tattoo of his family crest on his left arm.

Wahlberg currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Kim, and sons Xavier and Elijah.

Selected filmography

• Boomtown (2002–2003), television series, as Dt. Joel Stevens
• Band of Brothers (2001), television miniseries, as Carwood Lipton
• The Sixth Sense (1999), as Vincent Gray
• Southie (1998)
• Ransom (1996)
• Bullet (1996)

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