Donald Edmond "Donnie" Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor, and film producer, whose work includes music, feature films, and television. He is known for his roles in The Sixth Sense, Boomtown, Righteous Kill, and the Saw franchise.
He played Detective Eric Matthews in Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, and the Full Disclosure Report.
Early Life[]
Donnie Wahlberg was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. He is the eighth of nine children, with older siblings, Arthur, Jim, Paul, Robert, Tracey, Michelle, and Debbie, who died in 2003, and younger brother, Mark, who began his entertainment career in the former rap group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He also has three half-siblings from his father's first marriage: Donna, Scott, and Buddy. His mother, Alma Elaine, was a bank clerk and nurse's aide, while his father, Donald Edmond Wahlberg, Sr., was a teamster who worked as a delivery driver. They divorced in 1982. Wahlberg's father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother is of Irish, English, and French-Canadian ancestry. Maternally, he is distantly related to author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Career[]
Wahlberg was an original member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. His first film acting role was in the 1996 film Bullet with Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur. The same year, he appeared as a kidnapper in Ransom with Mel Gibson. He went back to his hometown for a starring role in the South Boston-based film Southie. Wahlberg received attention for his role in the 1999 film The Sixth Sense, playing the patient of Bruce Willis' character in the opening sequence.
In 2001, Wahlberg co-starred as Second Lieutenant C. Carwood Lipton in the television miniseries Band of Brothers. He also starred in the NBC drama series Boomtown as Joel Stevens, a Los Angeles police detective. Graham Yost, the executive producer and writer of Boomtown, had worked with him in Band of Brothers and was so impressed by his performance that he wrote the role of Joel Stevens specifically for him.
In 2003, Wahlberg starred alongside Timothy Olyphant, Jason Lee, and his Band of Brothers co-star Damian Lewis as the mentally challenged Duddits in William Goldman and Lawrence Kasdan's adaptation of the Stephen King alien-invasion thriller Dreamcatcher. In 2005, he starred as Detective Eric Matthews in the second installment of the Saw franchise. He reprised the role in Saw III in 2006 and Saw IV in 2007 while also appearing in Saw V in 2008 via archive footage from the previous films.
In 2006, Wahlberg played Lieutenant Commander Burton in the military/boxing drama Annapolis. In September of that year, he played the lead role in the short-lived television drama Runaway on The CW. The show was canceled in October 2006 due to poor ratings. The following year, he starred in the television film Kings of South Beach on A&E and the TV series The Kill Point.
In 2008, Wahlberg appeared in Righteous Kill. He also co-starred in What Doesn't Kill You and appeared in the 2011 comedy Zookeeper. On CBC's Blue Bloods, a police drama set in New York City, Wahlberg plays 1st Grade Detective Danny Reagan. As of 2011, Wahlberg is the host of an internet radio show on Friday nights at 8 pm PST called DDUB's R&B Back Rub on Cherry Tree Radio.
Personal Life[]
On August 20, 1999, Wahlberg married Kimberley Fey. They filed for divorce on August 13, 2008, citing "irreconcilable differences." They have two sons, Xavier Alexander Wahlberg, born on March 4, 1993, and Elijah Hendrix Wahlberg, born on August 20, 2001. In July 2013, it was reported by UsWeekly that he was dating actress and comedian Jenny McCarthy after meeting on Watch What Happens Live in March. They announced their engagement on The View on April 16, 2014, and married on August 31, 2014, at the Hotel Baker in St. Charles, Illinois.
Wahlberg is a passionate fan of the Boston Celtics and has been seen attending many of their games. In addition, he narrated a documentary called The Association: Boston Celtics about the team's 2010–11 season, which aired on ESPN between 2010 and 2011. He also owns a restaurant in Boston named Wahlburgers, along with his brothers Paul and Mark.
Discography[]
New Kids on the Block[]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1988 | Please Don't Go Girl |
| You Got It, The Right Stuff | |
| Please Don't Go Girl Version 2 | |
| 1989 | I'll Be Loving You (Forever) |
| Hangin' Tough | |
| Cover Girl | |
| This One's for the Children | |
| 1990 | Step by Step |
| Tonight | |
| Games | |
| 1991 | Call It What You Want |
| If You Go Away | |
| 1993 | Dirty Dawg |
| 1994 | Never Let You Go |
| 2008 | Summertime |
| Single | |
| Dirty Dancing | |
| 2009 | 2 in the Morning |
| 2013 | Remix - I Like The |
| The Whisper | |
| 2017 | One More Night |
| 2019 | Boys in the Band (Boy Band Anthem) |
| 80s Baby |
Filmography[]
Films[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Bullet | Big Balls |
| Ransom | Cubby Barnes | |
| 1997 | Black Circle Boys | Greggo |
| 1998 | Butter | Rick Damon |
| Body Count | Booker | |
| Southie | Danny Quinn | |
| 1999 | The Sixth Sense | Vincent Grey |
| 2000 | Bullfighter | Chollo |
| Diamond Men | Bobby Walker | |
| 2002 | Triggermen | Terry Malloy |
| 2003 | Dreamcatcher | Duddits |
| 2005 | Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School | Randall Ipswitch |
| Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D | Helium 3 Commander | |
| Saw II | Detective Eric Matthews | |
| 2006 | Annapolis | Lt. Burton |
| Saw III | Detective Eric Matthews | |
| 2007 | Dead Silence | Det. Lipton |
| Saw IV | Detective Eric Matthews | |
| 2008 | Righteous Kill | Detective Ted Riley |
| What Doesn't Kill You | Detective Moran | |
| 2011 | Zookeeper | Shane |
Television Series[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Practice | Patrick Rooney |
| 2001 | Big Apple | Chris Scott |
| Band of Brothers | C. Carwood Lipton | |
| UC: Undercover | Bobby | |
| 2002-2003 | Boomtown | Detective Joel Stevens |
| 2006 | The Path to 9/11 | 'Kirk', CIA Operative |
| Runaway | Paul Rader | |
| 2007 | The Kill Point | Captain Horst Cali |
| 2010 | In Plain Sight | Jimmy McCabe / Jimmy Porter |
| Rizzoli & Isles | Lt. Joey Grant | |
| 2013 | Massholes | Donnie Wahlberg |
| 2016 | Fuller House | Donnie Wahlberg |
| 2017 | Return of the Mac | Donnie |
| 2018 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | NYPD Det. Danny Reagan |
| 2010-2024 | Blue Bloods | Det. Danny Reagan |
Television Films[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Taking of Pelham One Two Three | Mr. Grey |
| 1999 | Purgatory | Deputy Glen / Billy The Kid |
| 2005 | N.Y.-70 | Det. Mike Ryan |
| 2007 | Kings of South Beach | Andy Burnett |
| 2009 | Bunker Hill | Detective Mike Moriarty |
Video Games[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Turok | Shepard |
Gallery[]
