Mile 22's Mark Wahlberg gets talky for fourth movie with Peter Berg

It is no wonder Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg and US director Peter Berg keep working together back to back, considering they think so much alike.

The 47-year-old US actor said: "We wanted to do something where we could have some fun, but our idea of fun is creating a world that is full of violence, betrayal, deceit and all of these things that I think make for a great story."

The movie is action thriller Mile 22, which opens here tomorrow and is their fourth project together after Lone Survivor (2013), Deepwater Horizon (2016) and Patriots Day (2016).

An elite paramilitary team has to transport a foreign intelligence asset35km (or 22 miles, hence the movie's title) from a US embassy in the fictional South-east Asian country of Indocarr to an airfield for extraction in 38 minutes.

Along the way, they have to battle the city's military, police and street gangs who are trying to reclaim the asset.

Wahlberg is James Silva, a CIA operative and leader of the secret team. Indonesian martial arts star Iko Uwais plays the asset, who arrives at the embassy offering an encrypted hard drive with crucial information that he refuses to unlock unless he is granted asylum in the US.

At our interview at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills, Wahlberg talks about how his part was expanded.

He said: "Originally, Silva was a small role, almost a secondary villain. And then Pete and I really started falling in love with his character, so what was initially two weeks of work for me became the focus of the film."

They wanted to make a different kind of anti-hero from the strong silent type in such genres, and instead create "a very opinionated, very talkative" protagonist.

He added: "We'd done three movies together before this that were all based on true stories and tragedies, so we always had to really be very careful with how we handled things, in the sensitive manner it deserved.

"And with this we just said, 'Okay, take the gloves off', and we pushed the envelope as much as possible."

That involved huge monologues for Wahlberg's character that he slaved over - and then "every one of (them) was cut in half".

He said: "All the dialogue that I spent months learning and creating its rhythm and pace for was chopped way down. Basically, it was like me being in detention at school. I had probably a stack of 30 notebooks that I filled up writing the dialogue... fives times a day."

He is also a big fan of Uwais, the 35-year-old actor best known for the 2011 action flick The Raid and its 2014 sequel.

Wahlberg said: "We were so inspired by The Raid. I think Pete and I must have watched that movie quite a few times. We just thought that he was not only really good at action but he's also a really good actor.

"When you spend time with Iko, you can't help but fall in love with him. He's such a sweet and charismatic guy. He's a superstar. I think it's a matter of introducing him to American audiences. The sky's the limit for a guy like that."

NERVOUS

He continued: "You could tell at first he was a little bit nervous. He had to speak a lot more English than he was used to.

"But we always said, 'Hey buddy, we're here because we believe in you, take your time'. He would get frustrated if he was stumbling with something. And if he got a little nervous, I would say, 'Wait, let's cut for a second, take all the time you need'. And I think he really appreciated that."

As a very successful actor, producer and entrepreneur, Wahlberg has a lot of businesses and has made a lot of money.

He said: "The most important thing to understand is you can't take it with you, so it's what you do with it while you're here. I think where I can be of help and make contributions that I think will be helpful and impactful, I do. There's no luggage rack on a hearse.

"I have my indulgences - shoes, watches, things like that. But other than that, I'm just trying now to create more opportunity, build a bigger business.

"We have 27 Wahlburgers (his family-run burger chain) open now and have another 10 opening this year, and I'm funding a lot of those restaurants myself.

"So I'm putting money into the business and trying to build and grow and leave (something) for my (four) children to hopefully be passionate about and want to take on and pass down a few generations."

His finances came under the spotlight earlier this year, after the industry uproar over him being paid US$1.5 million (S$2 million) for re-shoots on the crime drama All The Money In The World while his co-star Michelle Williams pocketed just US$1,000.

He ended up donating the entire amount to the Time's Up movement in her name.

He said: "I think the thing that you have to understand is there's also a way to establish people's value and what they bring to the studio. I don't decide who gets paid what, but I can push for people when I'm producing a project or a television show.

"But yes, I think if you're out there making the studio a lot of money, you should be getting paid a lot of money.

" Men, women, African-American, Asian, whatever it is, you should definitely be getting paid what your value is.

"And I would have just assumed (the movie was) giving the money to Michelle too, because I think she deserved it, she's a super talent. But it's up to the powers that be to recognise that.

"There's a lot of great things happening that should have been happening a long time ago and I'm very proud to have just made whatever contribution I could."