."I am calling it right now Wahlberg is getting an Oscar nomination for his role as Father Stu ." For six years, Wahlberg had been so driven to tell the story of Father Stu that he self-financed the movie. He said he spent "millions and millions of dollars" to get it made.
Wahlberg gained 30 pounds for his new movie "Father Stu."
To gain weight, the actor started with an initial two-week 7,000-calorie-a-day diet plan. Then during the last four weeks, he upped his intake to 11,000 calories a day.
"A dozen eggs, dozen pieces of bacon, two bowls of white rice, a cup of olive oil to start the morning," he said. "More eggs, a porterhouse steak. That's seven to eight meals a day of this."
The weight gain was one aspect of the performance, but Wahlberg noted that he felt it was the only way to show the audience just how much Long had changed by the end of his life. "Everything about Stu was predicated on his physicality. To see him lose that but to gain the strength of a thousand men spiritually, it was unbelievable. I wanted the audience to see that and understand it," he explained.
Mark Wahlberg looks unrecognizable.
Based on a true story, Father Stu is an unflinchingly honest, funny and ultimately uplifting drama about a lost soul who finds his purpose in a most unexpected place. When an injury ends his amateur boxing career, Stuart Long (Mark Wahlberg) moves to L. A. dreaming of stardom. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen (Teresa Ruiz), a Catholic Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. Determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her. But surviving a terrible motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others find their way, leading to the surprising realization that he is meant to be a Catholic priest. Despite a devastating health crisis and the skepticism of Church officials and his estranged parents (Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver), Stu pursues his vocation with courage and compassion, inspiring not only those closest to him but countless others along the way.
