Mark Wahlberg: The Gift of Suffering, Father Stu, and Why He Chooses Faith

When an injury ends his amateur boxing career, Stuart Long played by Mark Wahlberg moves to L.A. dreaming of stardom. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets a Catholic Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. Determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her. But surviving a terrible motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others find their way, leading to the surprising realization that he is meant to be a Catholic priest.

We talked with Wahlberg about the loss of his mom during production, suffering, the catalyst for his conversion and this true story he believed in so much he took the necessary measures to really transform into Stu. Plus, you don’t want to miss the punchline of the priest joke he tells at the end!

Father Stu in theatres today