Mark Wahlberg is back in the gym after undergoing a physical transformation for his new movie role in Father Stu. The actor, 49, gained roughly 20 lbs. in six weeks for the upcoming flick, which will show him playing a boxer-turned-priest. He took to Instagram on June 15 to share a clip of himself flexing his arm and flashing his abs at the camera. “I got these youngsters angry,” he captioned the video, which showed him wearing a grey tee and black shorts.
“Performance Inspired Nutrition works! Working out is only 15% of the equation. 85% nutrition and recovery. A little old head wisdom,” he added. Mark was also wearing white gloves and appeared to have done some serious sweating during the gym sesh, as his top was practically a different color. “Back to shape in no time,” one fan commented. Mark recently opened up during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live about gaining weight for the movie, which is loosely based on the story of Father Stuart Long, who quit the ring to become a priest.
“After we do the boxing scenes, I get to put on as much weight as possible over the course of the film, so I’m challenging myself to put on 30 pounds in the next six weeks,” he said during an interview in APril. Although he revealed that production wanted him to be “as healthy as possible” when gaining the weight, he admitted to being excited about eating a lot of sweets and carbs.
“I want to go bakeries. I want to go to Denny’s. I want to get pancakes. I want to get everything I can possibly get my hands on,” he said. He also had an idea for his first weight-gaining meal and it included a “20-piece chicken nugget and 20-piece hot wings from Kentucky Fried Chicken” meal as well as a “six pack of beer.”