Mark Wahlberg has shared how his Catholic faith continues to shape his thinking about forgiveness, judgment and mercy, even as his latest film, “By Any Means,” plunges him into a world where justice and vengeance are increasingly difficult to distinguish.
The 55-year-old actor stars opposite Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in a film loosely inspired by events surrounding the 1966 murder of civil rights activist and NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Directed by Elegance Bratton, “By Any Means” is set against the racial violence and voter suppression of the Jim Crow-era South. Dahmer had publicly offered to help black residents pay poll taxes that prevented many poor citizens from voting, declaring that their participation at the ballot box was a statement that “we here, that we matter.”
The film follows Wayne Strider (Abdul-Mateen), a black FBI agent who returns to his native Mississippi from Chicago and encounters an institution in which authorities routinely turn a blind eye to racist violence. After the federal government prioritizes the investigation into Dahmer’s murder, Strider is paired with Gregory Scarpa (Wahlberg), a feared Brooklyn mobster recruited for an off-the-books effort to identify those responsible.
Scarpa was a real-life mobster, while Strider is a composite character inspired by FBI agents who reportedly worked with him.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Wahlberg, a devout Catholic who has frequently spoken publicly about the importance of faith in his life, reflected on how the film’s themes stand in stark contrast to the Christian mandate to forgive.
“I think at the end of the day, of course, you can’t be forgiven unless you forgive,” Wahlberg said. “And in this world, you know, to do what God wants you to do, and to emulate what Jesus has done, to be able to find forgiveness no matter what.”
Still, Wahlberg acknowledged that “By Any Means” operates in a cinematic world where watching its characters take matters into their own hands can be “wildly entertaining and satisfying.”
For Abdul-Mateen, the moral conflict is at the center of Strider’s journey. The character begins as a by-the-book agent but increasingly questions how long he can follow the rules when the institutions around him fail to protect black Americans.
“He was wondering or figuring out how long he could pursue justice by the book,” Abdul-Mateen said, “or whether or not he had to, you know, roll up his sleeves and look the other way and to sort of lean towards some of the more evil ways of pursuing justice.”
The actor, whose credits include “Watchmen,” “Aquaman” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” drew on Scripture when describing the distinction.
“There’s a difference between justice and vengeance,” he said. “Justice tends to — there’s connotations of being of righteousness, you know, and vengeance is, if we’re going to stick to the biblical themes, I believe the Scripture says, ‘Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.’”
Once Wayne begins pursuing vengeance rather than justice, he risks crossing a moral boundary. The film doesn’t provide easy answers; viewers are confronted with the uncomfortable question of whether they want Strider to maintain his principles or embrace brutal tactics.
“If he’s going after vengeance, then that means that he’s already operating outside of righteousness and, you know, outside of good, which was Wayne’s dilemma,” he said. “I think that’s why the movie is really excellently structured, because it puts the audience in the same dilemma as well, because they’ll have to pick a side to root for. They’ll either have to root for Wayne to stay the course, or they’ll have to root for him to go the other way.”
“Hopefully, we’ll have some really good conversations to come out of that,” he added.
Reflecting on choosing forgiveness and mercy when his instincts might pull him in another direction, Wahlberg pointed first to his responsibilities as a father and husband.
“I’m constantly working on being patient with my children and realizing, you know, that I just have to be an example for them,” he said, adding that while his instinct as a parent can be to be “strict and stern,” his faith continually brings him back to patience and grace.
“Judgment, you know, it’s not something that we’re supposed to be doing,” he said. “We’re supposed to be understanding and forgiving and loving, no matter what. … Not an easy thing to do, but something that’s going to take a lot of practice and a lot of work, and, you know, a lot of years of committing.”
The actor has long discussed his disciplined morning routine and commitment to prayer. He said he begins each day on his knees expressing gratitude to God in an effort to set the tone for the day.
“Every day I start off, you know, getting on my hands and my knees and expressing my gratitude,” Wahlberg said. “And then, I don’t know, an hour in, two hours in, the phone’s ringing, something’s going on, something didn’t go right. This happened, this happened, and then, man, it could go awry quick.”
Even something as ordinary as watching the news, dealing with a problem or getting cut off while driving can test those convictions, he said, adding: “Lots of things could happen that could derail your day and put you in a mood where you’re not so pleasant to deal with.”
The film isn’t an easy watch, nor is it intended to be: It’s rated R for violence, bloody images and pervasive language. “By Any Means” contains graphic portrayals of racist violence, including Dahmer’s killing in a firebombing, as well as torture, beatings, threats and racial slurs.
And while Wahlberg emphasized that his faith guides his personal life, he stressed he’s never wanted it to restrict him from portraying complicated or morally questionable characters.
“I’ve always said I don’t want my faith to also control the choices that I make artistically, and I hope the Lord is a movie fan,” Wahlberg said. “I’ve mentioned that a few times because I’ve done some things that are a little bit questionable on film, but, you know, as an artist, you want to be able to be free and to do that.”
“But my mission in life, obviously, of course, is to continue to spread the Word to people,” he added.
“By Any Means” hits theaters Sept. 4.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]
