Mark Wahlberg headed into uncharted territory for his latest movie.
The actor, 50, stars opposite Tom Holland in the upcoming action-adventure film Uncharted, based on the hit PlayStation video game series. Wahlberg, however, doesn’t consider himself a gamer.
“I’m a gamer on the golf course. I’m a gamer in real life,” the father of four tells PEOPLE (the TV Show!) host Kay Adams in this week’s issue. “My wife is already mad enough that during the pandemic the kids were playing video games too much. I would be in big trouble if I started playing video games for six, seven hours a day. My last big vice was Brick Breaker on the Blackberry. That was bad.”
Growing up, Wahlberg enjoyed games like PacMan, Atari and Asteroids.
“I played them all,” he says. “We [would] sneak into the bar to play video games. My favorite game of all time was Sega Hockey, especially when the guys would fight on the ice.”
Wahlberg, the youngest of nine kids, found another first on set when it came to his relationship with costar Holland, 25.
“Playing opposite Tom was a lot of fun because he’s like an annoying little brother and I never had a little brother, so it was nice,” Wahlberg says. “I think the movie’s that much better because of the chemistry between the two of us.”
The two-time Oscar nominee found the Spider-Man star “sweet and very focused.” “He’s found a nice balance of doing these giant tentpoles and then also doing things that are really challenging and showcase his talent and his abilities,” Wahlberg adds.
Wahlberg actually almost played Holland’s character Nathan Drake.
“I was attached to this movie for quite some time, so long that I was playing the Tom Holland role originally,” he reveals. “And now I’m playing Sully, but I love the fact that I’m playing Sully. He’s such a fun character, a very kind of untrustworthy guy who, when chipped away this tough exterior, actually has a heart of gold.”
Holland bulked up to play the treasure hunter, and Wahlberg keeps up his early morning workouts.
“My nephew, Jeffrey, who is a wonderful actor, he’s been in the gym with me every day,” the former pop star says. “I had him there at 3:30 in the morning. He walked in and he was so down and so tired, but when he left there, he felt like he could conquer with the world. So whoever wants to come, bring them on!”
Uncharted hits theaters Feb. 18.
