Much has been written about a supposed love scene filmed between Wahlberg's astronaut and Bonham Carter's chimp. So, what was it like to smooch an ape?
"It was Helena Bonham Carter under there, so it was actually a very pleasant experience," he grins. "Rick Baker (the makeup artist) made her so cute. It was very easy. You'll have to see if it makes it into the movie." The original "Ape" star, Charlton Heston, makes a cameo appearance in the highly-awaited film. As his character was killed off in the first of the sequels, the legendary actor plays a new role - that of Thade's dying father. Wahlberg didn't work on the day Heston filmed, but he came to the studio to meet the man he had insulted at the MTV Movie Awards. When presenting the best-villain trophy in 2000, Mark suggested he "skip the nominees and go right to the winner. The winner is Charlton Heston, for being the head of the NRA (pro-gun association)."
"Actually, my buddy Clooney put me up to that," explains Mark, who co-starred with Clooney in 'Three Kings' and 'The Perfect Storm'. But on the film set, Wahlberg and Heston were civil to each other. "Charlton has got a sense of humour," tells Wahlberg. "He was very polite and complimented me on my work. I said the feeling was mutual. Being from the hood, I've got my own views on guns."
There have been a few storms brewing around Wahlberg lately; rumours that he was dating Winona Ryder and Jennifer Aniston.
"The Winona rumour is really ridiculous," he shrugs. "I did not break up her relationship with Matt Damon. I've met Matt. He's a really nice guy. Winona and I met a few times to talk about doing a movie together. The project never materialized. That's all there ever was to that."
Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, Mrs. Brad Pitt, just completed work on the film 'Rockstar', in which she plays his girlfriend. Tabloids reported of a steamy, off-screen romance between the actors.
"My mom read the stories and called me," he says. "She was furious. She told me to leave that nice Brad Pitt's girl alone. I couldn't believe my mom bought that nonsense. I consider Brad a good friend. I'd never do something like that to him."
"Besides, I have my own girlfriend. I don't need to steal anyone else's girl."
The Los Angeles-based star has been dating actress Jordana Brewster of 'As the World Turns' fame since he broke up with China Chow, his co-star in 'The Big Hit'. Mark may be in a relationship, but don't expect to see him marching to the altar any time soon.
"I have some problems with commitment, or else you'd see me married with children," he points out.
Wahlberg isn't your average Hollywood star or average family man. The former street thug, foul-mouthed rapper and crotch-grabbing underwear model - then called Marky Mark - grew up in a cramped three-bedroom apartment in Boston.
His parents divorced when he was eleven, and his mother, Alma, had two jobs to make ends meet.
"Every day, I'd get up, hustle, make money, steal cars, sell drugs, rob people, drink and do drugs," recalls the actor, the youngest of nine children, who, at 11 began drinking and, at 15, was arrested for beating up some children. "Mom was too busy working and feeling sorry for herself to notice my slide into delinquency."
At 17, Mark was charged with assault and spent 45 days in Deer Island prison - a facility that has been shut down because it was "filthy and there were rats everywhere." "I was high at the time on what I thought was marijuana," he explains the incident that landed him in prison. "I had gotten it out of a friend's mother's freezer and it was actually angel dust. My friend and I attacked a bunch of people that night. I woke up the next morning in jail. I didn't even remember all of that stuff happening."
What did his mother say?
"She was shocked. Nobody in my family knew what was going on in my life until I made the phone call and said, 'I'm in jail.' " Prison was his big wake-up call for Mark, who for years had nightmares about going back.
"I realized it wasn't where I wanted to be," he says.
"A counsellor I was ordered to see in prison managed to get through to me. In prison I began to pump iron. It was where I got motivated to take charge of my life." He reflects,
"If I'd gotten unlucky, I could have easily been like any of my friends, doing life in prison or having huge numbers of kids they don't take care of."
Mark admits that it was "really hard" to stay focused after he got out of jail because "in my neighbourhood, if you're not getting high and you're not getting drunk with the guys, then you're a bum."

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