Mark Whalberg has admitted that he regrets playing pornstar Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights — the film that kickstarted his career in Hollywood.
Following his music career, where he played in New Kids on the Block and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, Whalberg has starred in over 60 films.
He does, however, regret his role in the 1997 film, where he plays a young nightclub dishwasher who goes on to become a popular pornstar.
Speaking at a Q&A in Chicago, per The Mirror, the 50-year-old disclosed: "I just always hope that God is a movie fan and also forgiving because I’ve made some poor choices in my past."
When he was probed about the particular film, he said, "Boogie Nights is up there at the top of the list."
Whalberg later clarified his comments when speaking to Entertainment Weekly at the premiere of Daddy's Home 2. "I was sitting in front of a couple of thousand kids talking about and trying to encourage them to come back to their faith, and I was just saying that I just hope he has a sense of humor because I maybe made some decisions that may not be okay with Him," he said.
"I’ve never been shy about sharing my past and the bad decisions I’ve made and being affiliated with gangs, being incarcerated, so absolutely I think they can identify with me on a personal level, and that’s why I’ve continued to try to do as much as I can to help young people," he continued.
Whalberg is a committed Catholic, who has been open about his faith in previous interviews.
Speaking on Today back in March of 2020, he stated: "Look, I will not hide the fact that I love the Lord and I want to be committed to serving the Lord, but I also don’t jam it down anybody’s throat. But it’s better to never have known God than to deny God. I mean, that’s not a good look. That’s not a good look."
Whalberg's troubled youth is well documented. Growing up in the deprived Dorchester area of Boston, he was the youngest of nine children, and proceeded to drop out of school at a young age.
At the age of 13, he was already in trouble with law enforcement and was addicted to cocaine and other drugs.
Speaking to The Guardian about that time, last year, he said: "I was always in trouble, and I was kind of little. In the circumstances where I was being preyed upon, at times, I had to protect and defend myself.
"It’s not an easy thing to navigate as a teenage kid who’s 5ft 2in, 120lb, with grown men."