IT EARNED HIM an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but Mark Wahlberg initially wanted nothing to do with Martin Scorsese’s The Departed.

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The script for the 2006 film, which also starred Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson among other Hollywood elite, wasn’t doing it for the Boston-native, and he was pretty quick to tell his agent as much.

Mr Scorsese, however, failed to get the memo.

Speaking to GQ, Mark recalled a particularly awkward conversation with the veteran film-maker, who was under the impression Mark was on board.

I wasn’t committed to making the movie and my agent told Marty that I was. Marty called me up and he was so excited about making this movie together.

*Cue Mark pulling on his collar at the other end of the phone as he revealed that he had no intention of taking the role.*

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We know; who turns down a Martin Scorsese movie, says you.

So, what was Mark’s beef?

I wanted a different part, and I wanted some other different things. We had talked about doing it for a long time, but things happened and the studio pushed back on different things. I told Marty I didn’t want to do it.

And, unsurprisingly, given the names attached to the movie, Mark’s agent suggested he wind his neck in pronto and reconsider Scorsese’s invitation.

They sent me on a plane over the weekend to Marty’s office.  I read the script again, and I was pretty angry and I said again I wasn’t going to do it.

And then the cogs started to turn in good ol’ Marty’s head and he assured Mark he could play the role of Dignam however he saw fit.

Marty told me, ‘Look at this part, look at what you get to do with all these people.’ He knows I’m from that world and I talked to him about improvising and doing my own thing and he said, ‘Dude, you’re free to do what you want to do.’

And boom! Mark secured himself his very first Oscar nomination.

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