McKay, who encouraged the wannabe movie stars to improvise during their scenes with the acclaimed dramatic actor, can attest to this.
"They would just be going after Mark in every scene," he said, shaking his head. "Mark would then come over to me and go, 'It's another one of those improv guys, isn't it?' "
Even co-star Michael Keaton, who plays Wahlberg's police captain in this comedy about a pair of mismatched second-string police detectives, feels compelled to challenge the somewhat soft-spoken actor to duke it out. In the middle of a press conference. Keaton is only kidding, isn't he?
Of course, Wahlberg is partly to blame for his predicament. Over the past two decades he has established himself as a tough guy, first as a rapper with a rap sheet, then as an action star in films like "Three Kings," "The Perfect Storm," "The Italian Job, "The Yards" and "We Own the Night," not to mention his Oscar-nominated turn as a mercurial police sergeant in "The Departed."
Sure, he's played a few roles with comedic elements - he had a cameo in this summer's Steve Carell-Tina Fey comedy "Date Night" and he has hosted "Saturday Night Live" - but before "The Other Guys," Wahlberg had never done a full-blown comedy.
The 39-year-old had been looking to do a comedy for some time. He figured he'd be in good hands with seasoned pros Ferrell and McKay, who met on "SNL" and subsequently collaborated on "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and "Step Brothers." They also co-created the hit Internet site, funnyordie.com. "They invited me to dinner and said they wanted to do a movie," recalled Wahlberg. "I was like, 'you got to be kidding me,' and I said, 'I'll do whatever you want.' "
