Whether you know him from the Marky Mark days, Boogie Nights, or Ted, Mark Wahlberg has been a Hollywood fixture for over three decades at this point. The durability of his career hasn’t come about by accident: Wahlberg is very open about his dedication to hard work and constant improvement. That said, when we met up last month, he managed to bring an element of ease to our conversation—and the tequila didn't hurt. That would be Flecha Azul Tequila, a brand that Wahlberg decided to back after becoming friends with its founders, Aron Marquez and first-generation Mexican-American pro golfer Abraham Ancer.
In addition to (or in spite of) his new ventures of the liquor business, Wahlberg sticks to an extremely strict training and filming schedule: He broke down exactly what his diet includes, what keeps him motivated, and his biggest pet peeve on film sets.
For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and other high performers about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
GQ: Are you still a super early-riser?
Mark Wahlberg: I try to be—I woke up today pretty early at 3 a.m. Coming from the West Coast to the East Coast and that time change and taking a red eye kind of threw me off. In a perfect world, I get eight hours, so if I wake up at 4 a.m., I go to bed at 8 p.m.
Is that an Oura ring [fitness tracker]? Are you into monitoring your sleep pretty closely?
I’ve been disconnected from the app, but I just keep wearing it and figure it’s a wedding band too.
What’s your overall diet philosophy?
I mean, it depends. I’ll kinda splurge here and there, but it’s frustrating because later on in life I figure I found the secret to being able to eat more—or indulge more often—if I was intermittent fasting. So finding out about fasting when I was 50 years old was a little bit frustrating! I would eat a lot of small meals—buying into different philosophies at different times. But I feel like the fasting thing works the best.
What does your intermittent fasting schedule and diet look like?
Normally with intermittent fasting I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’ll eat at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. for an eighteen hour fast and a six hour eating window. Usually eggs, protein pancakes, smoked salmon, a couple pork chops, a couple sausage links and protein with some almond butter for breakfast.
I usually have chicken and bok choy for lunch, and then steak and fish for dinner with some sort of vegetable.
What’s a cheat meal?
Um, you know I have pasta—it really just depends. I like cookies and chocolate.
How often are you drinking your Flecha Azul?
Well, up until 67 days ago I was drinking quite a bit of it every day. So I took a little break. I gave it up for Lent, and then I’m just kind of on this health kick as I’m training to go back and finish this film that I did over a year ago. Having trained for four months for the movie and then having made the movie for seven months and then having to go back to it is very frustrating, but it’s just part of the gig. I’ve done it quite a number of times before. I think, come either on my birthday or the Fourth of July I should be able to partake again.
What’s the movie?
It’s called Our Guy from Jersey, with Halle Berry. She’s amazing—you oughta see her—her program’s impressive. I don’t even try to compete, Halle’s in a league of her own.
What’s your weekly workout schedule look like?
Workouts? Well, on a daily basis I cold plunge. In a perfect world you would cold plunge before the workout, but it’s so darn cold that I haven’t mastered the cold plunge yet. But I'm working out Sunday, Monday, Tuesday—rest Wednesday. The work out Thursday, Friday and rest on Saturday. Repeat.
I actually got a nap today, which is very rare. I don’t normally nap—I’ll nap if I’m shooting a movie because I have a lot of downtime thanks to shots and setups and things like that.
Do you meditate?
I don’t meditate, but I pray. I’m always kind of in my own head, so I’m a deep thinker, but meditation, no, not really. Breathing exercises? I've been trying to get into that. I’m following this new philosophy about just: well, once you get to 50, it’s about OK, well how much longer can you actually be around?
Well, it doesn’t seem possible that you’re 50.
Well, I feel 60.
You also have four teenagers. Are you a strict dad?
Well, my oldest daughter now, she doesn’t care. She’s off at college and she feels like she can do what she wants because she’s an adult… until it comes down to threatening her financial support and then she listens a little bit. The rules apply a little bit again, but only in that regard.
And then my youngest daughter, thankfully she’s just in love with her horses.
This is a little off topic, but I just wondered—you often play an intimidating guy in movies— who’s been the most fun person to be mean to?
To be mean to? Will Ferrell. He loves it. Working with Will we just laugh every day and he just genuinely likes to make people laugh. His comedy comes from a nice place and he’s a sweet, sweet guy. And so, to give him crap? I remember even in promoting the movie we had lots of fun.
Would you ever want to do a comedy that has you in more of a stand-up comedian-style role?
I got enough jobs already, but I practice in private. I make fun of everybody and everybody makes fun of me. All my friends in our group—we all kind of give each other a tough time. If you’re taking yourself too seriously, you’re not gonna like it, but if you’re able to laugh at yourself and somebody gets a good one on you, then that’s par for the course.
So how did you meet Aron and Abraham from Flecha and end up getting involved?
Well, people wanted a celebrity to be involved, and I didn’t want to get involved in the spirits space until I realized what they created and more importantly, who created it. I was really really impressed with Aron and Abe’s stories and what they did to overcome the obstacles that they faced. You know, I thought I had it difficult and then I realized, well, my life was pretty darn easy considering what they had to overcome.
But it took time for us to really bond and connect and realize we had so much in common. I loved what they’d created, especially when it came to the tequila space being so hot when it came to celebrity brands. I thought, you know what, let’s kind of turn this upside down and give credit where credit is due and give them the recognition that they deserve. I wanted to put my hard-earned dollars into what they created and go out there and be a megaphone for them. I just feel like we have a huge advantage because we have a superior product and it’s authentic and it’s real, and as this category has risen, customers want to know that.
It sounds like you connected to their values as well.
Everything I do is aspirational. Everything is about doing the work. People think it’s easy for me because I’m successful, but I became successful because I did the work. There’s no success without doing the work. So why would I change that approach and that attitude? Why would I get up less and to do less? You know, I figure it feels good to be successful. It feels good to create opportunity, not only for myself but for my children and their future. And also, just to get better at what I do: Becoming a better person, becoming an example, and so I just do more of it.
I don’t know what it’s like to just have everything you want and not appreciate it, but I know what it’s like to have to go out there and have to earn it and work hard for it. To really appreciate something, it has to be built over time and earned.
On Instagram when you post your workout videos you often say you’re “winning the morning.” What does it look like to win a day?
For me, I’m very regimented. So if I don't do something that I’m supposed to do, I feel like I’m cutting corners. In the prep that I do for a movie—I want to know the script inside and out. I just did a movie where I had to speak German and French, and you have to be able to really sound like you can do it. I don’t speak them, but I had to sound like I did. Just doing the work. You show up prepared and you’re able to not only do what’s expected of you, but bring a little bit more to the table. So I just always like to be over-prepared, and I take pride in it. My worst nightmare is that I’ve lost my script and I don’t know my lines. But I’ve seen many a person being paid quite a large amount of money, and they don’t know their lines.
Go ahead and name names.
We’ll do that next time. I’m not shy! I tell them to their face that I have a problem with it. If you have a job and a responsibility and you’re getting compensated for it, you should be able to show up on time—or early—and do what you’re supposed to do.
Does anything intimidate you?
I fear the Lord. I know that I’m going to be judged on what I do and where my heart is. If there is inequity in my heart, then I can’t be rewarded for what I do. There’s no fooling God so I have to go do that work.
The way that I conduct and carry myself, whether publicly or behind closed doors, those are the things that I know I need to worry about and so that’s what keeps me focused.
