Brokeback Mountain was a critical and commercial success when it was released thanks to the brilliant work of its famous leads, and it featured some of the best LGBTQ characters to ever appear on the big screen. Not just that, but the film itself is considered one of the best LGBTQ films in history.
The film is one of the best book-to-film adaptations and almost looked a lot different at one point. Could you imagine Mark Wahlberg as a lead in the film? Well, it almost happened! He was an early contender to land a lead role in the film, though this did not come to pass.
So, why did Mark Wahlberg not take the part? How could he not see that this was going to be a huge hit? The answer to these questions is a bit stranger than you’d think!
Wahlberg Was Approached By Director Ang Lee
Writers and directors usually have people in mind when they are putting together the pieces for a hit film, and given that success that Wahlberg has had in his career, it makes sense that he would be considered for huge roles in Hollywood.
Turns out, Ang Lee approached Mark Wahlberg about a lead role in the film. He would have been taking on the character Jack, playing opposite Heath Ledger’s Ennis. Now, we could see this working, but Ledger would be doing the heavy lifting here. Wahlberg has chops, but Jake Gyllenhaal is considered by many to be better on the big screen.
With Ang Lee’s name value and past success, one would think that actors would be champing at the bit to work with him, but he wound up getting a negative response from Wahlberg. We can only imagine what Ang Lee was thinking when he found out that Mark had no interest in the role of a lifetime.
He Was Creeped Out When He Read The Script
We got to see how much praise Brokeback Mountain received after it was released, which certainly indicates that the script was dynamite. Getting the chance to read it ahead of time for a potential role must have been exciting, but for Mark Wahlberg, this experience turned out to be creepy.
According to Irish Central, Wahlberg was less than thrilled with what he had read of the script that Ang Lee approached him with. In fact, Wahlberg is quoted as saying, “I met with Ang Lee on that movie, I read 15 pages of the script and got a little creeped out.” Yikes.
Look, we get that people have their own beliefs and ways of doing things, but looking back at this now, it seems a bit excessive, even from a guy like Mark Wahlberg.
His Religious Background Went Into Making His Decision
For those that have been keeping tabs on this, passing on Brokeback Mountain was a massive swing and a miss by Mark Wahlberg. He passed on the chance of starring in a monumentally successful film that earned rave reviews and would have instantly become one of his best films.
Well, it turns out that there is a bit more than meets the eye here. Irish Central was ahead of the curve when covering this topic, and they acknowledged that Wahlberg’s religious views have played a huge role in his film selection over the years. They even had an entire article discussing Wahlberg’s decision to pass on the role.
According to The National Enquirer, "The 38-year-old reformed bad boy relies on his closest confidante and longtime religious mentor, the Rev. James Flavin, to help him pick and choose his parts. 'Mark is a practicing Catholic, and he never makes a final decision on a starring role until Father Flavin gives his OK.”
There aren’t too many actors out there that would go to these lengths when looking into a film role, and we have to wonder how Wahlberg feels about his decision all these years later.
This Isn’t The Only Huge Role He’s Passed On
Brokeback Mountain was just one of several notable projects that Mark Wahlberg would pass on during his time in the entertainment industry.
According to Uproxx, Wahlberg had the chance to land Matt Damon’s role in Ocean’s Eleven, but he would take other roles instead. This means that he lost out on the chance to be a primary player in that successful trilogy while also working alongside George Clooney again, as the pair had starred in The Perfect Storm together.
Turns out, he also passed on the film Donnie Darko, which instead utilized Jake Gyllenhaal. This means that two of Jake’s best movies were all thanks to Wahlberg not getting the role. Talk about missed opportunities!
Wahlberg has done just fine for himself over the years, but passing on Brokeback Mountain still seems like a poor choice by the actor.
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