Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971) is an American actor, producer, businessman, former model, rapper, and songwriter. He was known by his stage name Marky Mark in his early career as frontman for the group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, releasing the albums Music for the People and You Gotta Believe.

From his early music career Wahlberg transitioned to acting, with his screen debut in Renaissance Man (1993) and his first starring role in Fear (1996). He received critical praise for his performance as porn actor Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights. In the early 2000s, he ventured into big budget action oriented movies, such as Planet of the Apes (2001) and The Italian Job (2003). In 2005 he appeared in the neo-crime drama The Departed, for which he earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. For the biographical sports drama The Fighter (in which he in addition took the lead) Wahlberg achieved an Academy Award nomination as Producer for Best Picture. In the 2010s, he landed successful comedy roles with Ted and its sequel and became the protagonist in the Transformers franchise.

Wahlberg has also served as executive producer of four HBO series: the comedy-drama Entourage (2004–2011), the period crime drama Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014), and the comedy-dramas How to Make It in America (2010–2011) and Ballers (2015–present). He is co-owner of the Wahlburgers chain and co-stars in the reality TV series about it. Wahlberg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 29, 2010. He frequently portrays police officers, military personnel, or criminals in his films. He is also known for his collaborations with directors David O. Russell, Michael Bay, and Peter Berg.