Donnie Wahlberg Biography
Born: August 17, 1969
Date of Birth: August 17, 1969
Born to delivery driver Donald Wahlberg and nurse/bank teller Alma Wahlberg, Donnie Walberg is the eighth of nine siblings. The family suffered after the parents' 1982 divorce. Growing up in Dorchester, a poor working class district of Boston, Donnie and several of his siblings were constantly in and out of trouble.
However, an arts program in high school led Donnie to get direct his energy towards acting, directing and writing plays. He also started a band, which became the highly successful group New Kids n the Block. When Donnie was 18, he helped his younger brother Mark, who'd just been released from jail, launch his own singing career. When Mark made the transformation from teen idol to legitimate actor, Donnie decided to follow in his path, making his screen debut in Bullet, starring Mickey Rourke. Unfortunately, the movie, filmed in 1994, was never released to theaters, instead going straight to video.
His next film, Ransom (1996) starring Mel Gibson, was more successful. After several more roles in TV movies and feature films, Wahlberg gave an outstanding performance as the psychotic former patient of a child psychologist (Bruce Willis) in the award-winning film The Sixth Sense (1999). He then appeared in Steven Spielberg's critically-acclaimed miniseries Band of Brothers (2001). Producer/writer Graham Yost was so impressed by Donnie's work in the show that he wrote the regular role of Joel Stevens in the NBC drama series Boomtown (2002 - 2003) for him.
Returning to the big screen, Donnie filmed roles in a number of high profile projects, including Saw II (2005) for Lions Gate, Annapolis (2006) for Buena Vista, and Silence (2006) for Universal.
Wahlberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Kim, and their two sons.
Filmography:
What Doesn't Kill You (2009)
Righteous Kill (2008)
Saw IV (2007)
Dead Silence (2007)
Saw III (2006)
Annapolis (2006)
Saw II (2005)
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2005)
Dreamcatcher (2003)
Triggermen (2002)
Bullfighter (2000)
Diamond Men (2000)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Southie (1998)
Body Count (1998)
Butter (1998)
Black Circle Boys (1997)
Ransom (1996)