Mark Wahlberg has opened up about how he combines his duties as a parent with his faith.
During an appearance on The Today Show on Thursday morning, the 50-year-old actor chatted to host Hota Kotb about his upcoming movie Father Stu, which is due to hit movie theaters on April 15.
The movie follows the real live story of Stuart Long, an ex-boxer who became a Catholic priest after a near-fatal motorcycle accident made him reassess his life.
Wahlberg - who is open about his Catholic beliefs - revealed that he was so passionate about telling Father Stu's story that he financed the project himself. As he explained, his faith means that there are some parallels between the character and himself.
That said, being a committed Catholic doesn't mean that the star is going to force his beliefs on his kids.
Wahlberg currently has four children with his wife Rhea Durham - Ella, 18, Michael, 16, Brendan, 13, and Grace Margaret, 12.
When asked by Kotb what they thought of his passion project, Wahlberg joked: "They think Dad's crazy, and he's boring."
He went on to say: "Even with my faith, I don't force it on them. But they know that Dad can't start the day without being in prayer, can't start the day without reading my Scripture or going to Mass."
"And hopefully, instead of forcing that on them, they'll say, 'Well, if it works for Dad, maybe it'll work for us,' and they'll kind of gravitate towards it on their own," Wahlberg added.
Earlier this week, the actor's latest role made headlines when he revealed the grueling diet he went on to gain weight for the movie.
In an interview with ET, he described how he gained 30 pounds in just six weeks by putting away 11,000 calories a day. To hit this massive intake quote, Wahlberg developed a stomach-turning habit - drinking olive oil by the glass full.
"I tried to do it in a healthy way," he explained. "It was a dozen eggs and a dozen pieces of bacon, two baked potatoes, a Porterhouse steak, two bowls of white rice, and a glass of olive oil."
