After monkeying around in Tim Burton's dismal "%3Ca%20href="%3Ca%20href="/films/2001/08/03/planet_of_the_apes_2001_review.shtml">Planet of the Apes", pop star turned actor Mark Wahlberg "blows the bloody doors off" in a remake of much-loved British classic, "The Italian Job", he takes the Michael Caine role, wideboy tea-leaf Charlie Croker...
Your character Charlie is a thief and he breaks the law but he's a likeable guy!
That was the challenge. We knew that the movie wouldn't work as a whole if my character and my crew weren't likeable. So it was a combination of me trying to bring a bit more of my own personality to the part - because I'm usually having fun and in a good mood when I'm not car sick, which is what happened to me when I was in the Mini Cooper with Charlize - and also playing opposite Edward, who does such a good job of being so hateable. It's a nice balance.
How do you think it compares to the 1969 original?
I hadn't seen the original until I signed on to do the new version. This has the same spirit but is definitely its own movie. Our crew faces a lot more challenges when they're pulling off the heist and the audience is much more in on the planning. I actually wanted to do an English accent, a Michael Caine accent, but the director said: "No way in hell!"
It's kind of a wholesome heist movie, isn't it? There's not a lot of violence...
My character isn't a violent guy. He and his crew don't use weapons and don't resort to violence. That's something that drew me to the part. Charlie is a thinker. There's still a threat of physical violence but we only see a gun two or three times in the whole movie.
It's not just the actors that are the stars of this film. The Mini Cooper has everyone talking too. You did a lot of the driving stunts yourself, didn't you?
They sent us to driving school. I'm not one to brag about doing my own stunts and trying to act like I'm a tough guy. I have a guy who looks like me and I like to put him there as often as possible. But, you know, it does make for a much more exciting chase and getaway because you really get the sense that we're in there. It's not wide shots of a stunt guy or a close-up of an actor on a sound stage doing a generic reaction, you know. It really feels real. They're a blast to drive. But like most people, you get behind the wheel of a car like that and it's so small, it's so maneuverable, it's so fast, you have a tendency to break the law!
You've said this is your favourite movie out of all the films you've done. Why?
It just works on every level. I was surrounded by the best young actors in the business and they all brought some of their own personalities to their roles. It's character driven and there's no computer generated effects in this movie. It's back to basics but it works as a whole and has the best stunt sequences and action sequences I've ever seen.
