Choosing the 'Mistletoe' singer over Garrett Hedlund, the 'Fighter' star gushes, 'Wait till you see me and Bieber in the flick. Think of, like, 'The Color of Money'.'
- Dec 28, 2011
AceShowbiz - Mark Wahlberg has let his intuition take over when it comes to casting Justin Bieber in his yet-untitled basketball movie. The "Contraband" star made the confession during a recent interview with MTV News in which he explained why he wanted to work with the "Mistletoe" singer.
"I'm pretty intuitive," assured the rapper-turned-Hollywood leading man. "I see the guy and spent time with him, and you see what he does and how he does it, and then you actually have a conversation with him, and it's there." Believing that Bieber has plenty of acting talent, he added, "If not, I will extract it."
Wahlberg kept details under tight wraps, but did reveal the main characters are an "old guy" and a "young guy". The Micky Ward of "The Fighter" went on to share that he initially assumed he would fill in the younger character.
Recalling his reaction when Paramount pitched the film to him, Wahlberg said, "I'm like, 'Cool, let's get Jack [Nicholson]. Let's get Robert De Niro. Let's get Robert Duvall.' " He continued, "And they go, 'What about Garrett Hedlund?' I'm like, 'For what?' They're like, 'For the young guy.' "
In the end, Wahlberg chose Bieber over "Tron Legacy" star Hedlund, but he did seem to be comfortable with his choice. "Wait till you see me and Bieber in the flick. Think of, like, 'The Color of Money,' " he gushed as referring to director Martin Scorsese's 1986 film starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise.
