- Donnie Wahlberg
-
Donnie Wahlberg 
Wahlberg in 2010Background information Birth name Donald Edward Wahlberg, Jr. Born August 17, 1969 Origin Dorchester, Massachusetts, United States Genres Pop Occupations Singer-songwriter, record producer, actor Years active 1984–94(with NKOTB)
1995–present(solo and acting career)
2008–present(with NKOTB)Associated acts New Kids on the Block Donald Edward "Donnie" Wahlberg, Jr.[1] (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor and film producer. He is a member of the popular 1980s and 1990s boy band New Kids on the Block. His work background includes music, feature films, and television. Donnie has had featured roles in the Saw films, The Sixth Sense, Boomtown and Righteous Kill, also appearing in the award-winning World War II miniseries Band of Brothers. He is also known for currently starring in the critically acclaimed drama series Blue Bloods. Donnie was nominated for Choice Scream at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards for his work on the Saw films.
Contents
Early life
Wahlberg was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, as the eighth of nine children, with older siblings Arthur, Jim, Paul Wahlberg, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, Debbie (died 2003) and younger sibling Mark Wahlberg. 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 Edward Wahlberg (died 2008) was a teamster who worked as a delivery driver; the couple divorced in 1982.[2][3] He is of Irish, English, Swedish, and French Canadian ancestry.[4]
Career
New Kids on the Block
Main article: New Kids on the BlockAs a recording artist, Wahlberg is known as an original member of boy band New Kids on the Block.
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. 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 2002–2003 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.[5]
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 alongside Jason Gedrick, Ricardo Chavira, and Nadine Velazquez in the television film Kings of South Beach on A&E. Also in 2007, he starred opposite John Leguizamo on the TV series The Kill Point.
In 2008, he appeared in Righteous Kill co-starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. He also co-starred in What Doesn't Kill You with Ethan Hawke, Mark Ruffalo and Amanda Peet.
Wahlberg currently stars as a detective on CBS's Blue Bloods, a police drama set in New York City. The show, which also stars Tom Selleck and Bridget Moynahan, airs Fridays at 10 pm EST.[6]
Currently, Donnie is the host of an internet radio show on Friday nights at 8 pm PST called "DDUB's R&B Back Rub" on Cherry Tree Radio.[7]
Personal life
Wahlberg married Kim Fey on August 20, 1999. He has two children with Fey, Xavier Alexander Wahlberg (born March 4, 1993) and Elijah Hendrix Wahlberg (born August 20, 2001). Wahlberg and Fey filed for divorce on August 13, 2008 citing "irreconcilable differences" and he is currently single.[8] He is one of the "famous faces"[9] due to being a regular player on the online poker website Hollywood Poker which is run in conjunction with Ongame Network.
Wahlberg is a passionate fan of the Boston Celtics and has been seen attending many of their games. He will be narrating a documentary called "The Association: Boston Celtics" about the team's 2010–11 season, which is set to air on ESPN between 2010 and 2011.[10]
Filmography
- Bullet (1996) as "Big Balls" (street name) Shelby Horne
- Ransom (1996) as Cubby Barnes
- Black Circle Boys (1996) as Greggo
- Body Count (1996) as Booker
- Butter (1998) as Rick Damon
- The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998) (TV) as Mr. Grey
- Southie (1998) as Danny Quinn
- Purgatory (1999), as Deputy Glen/Billy The Kid
- The Sixth Sense (1999), as Vincent Grey
- The Practice (2000) (TV) (1 episode, "Settling") as Patrick Rooney
- Bullfighter (2000), as Chollo
- Diamond Men (2000), as Bobby Walker
- Big Apple (2001) (TV) (7 episodes) as Chris Scott
- Triggermen (2002), as Hitman Terry Mulloy
- Band of Brothers (2001), television miniseries, as 101st Airborne second lieutenant Carwood Lipton
- Dreamcatcher (2003), as Douglas "Duddits" Cavell
- Boomtown (2002–2003), television series, as Detective Joel Stevens
- 50 First Dates (2004) as Vincent Grey (cameo)
- Saw II (2005), as Detective Eric Matthews
- Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (2005), as Randall Ipswitch
- Annapolis (2006), as Burton
- Runaway (2006), (TV series), as Paul Rader
- The Path to 9/11 (2006), television miniseries, as Detective Kirk
- Saw III (2006), as Detective Eric Matthews
- Kings of South Beach (2007), as Detective Andy
- Dead Silence (2007), as Detective Jim Lipton
- Saw IV (2007), as Detective Eric Matthews
- The Kill Point (2007), (TV series), as Detective Horst Cali
- Turok (video game) (2008), as Shepherd
- Righteous Kill (2008), as Detective Ted Reily
- What Doesn't Kill You (2008), as Detective Moran
- 1 1/2 Ritter (2008), as singer
- In Plain Sight (episode one, season 3) (TV series) (2010)
- Rizzoli & Isles (2 episodes) (TV Series) (2010)
- Zookeeper (2011) as Shane
- Blue Bloods (TV Series) (2010 – present), as Detective Daniel "Danny" Reagan
References
- ^ http://www.americanancestors.org/third-set-of-ten-hollywood/
- ^ "Donnie Wahlberg Biography (1969–)". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/98/Donnie-Wahlberg.html. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
- ^ "Donnie Wahlberg Biography – Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800024619/bio. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
- ^ "Ancestry of Mark Wahlberg". Wargs.com. http://www.wargs.com/other/wahlberg.html. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
- ^ Saw V Full Cast list http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1132626/fullcredits#cast
- ^ Posted by jrkm (March 22, 2010). "popgoesthenews.com: Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg play cops in Toronto". Popgoesthenews.blogspot.com. http://popgoesthenews.blogspot.com/2010/03/tom-selleck-and-donnie-wahlberg-play.html. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
- ^ "DDUB'S R&B Back Rub on Cherrytree Radio". Cherrytree Records. October 8, 2009. http://www.cherrytreerecords.com/profiles/blogs/ddubs-rampb-back-rub-on. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
- ^ Lee, Ken (August 18, 2008). "Donnie Wahlberg and His Wife File for Divorce – Breakups, Donnie Wahlberg". People.com. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20219949,00.html. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
- ^ "Donnie Wahlberg Biography". http://www.hollywoodpoker.com/green-room/celebrity-poker/biographies/donnie-wahlberg.html. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
- ^ "Donnie Wahlberg to narrate TV series on Boston Celtics – ESPN Boston". Sports.espn.go.com. December 1, 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=5870869. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
External links
Categories:- 1969 births
- Actors from Massachusetts
- American people of Swedish descent
- American film actors
- American male singers
- American musicians of Irish descent
- American people of French-Canadian descent
- American television actors
- Living people
- Musicians from Massachusetts
- New Kids on the Block members
- People from Boston, Massachusetts
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
