The youngest of nine, Mark Wahlberg knows well what it is like to be on the receiving end of sibling taunts. "I got verbally abused and physically tortured by all my bothers and my sisters," he recently reminisced in New York City during an interview to support the release of Four Brothers directed by John Singleton.

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But shed no tears for Wahlberg. With a devilish grin, he acknowledges that he gets his payback on the regular - a fact that confounds his mom. Mimicking his mom Alma Wahlberg's voice, Mark chimes, "You're 34 years old. You have a child and your brother has three kids. Why are you trying to beat up your brother? It's Christmas! " Wahlberg proudly notes the he exacts retribution with a "shit-eating grin" on his face.   MORE >>>

In Four Brothers, Wahlberg plays the eldest of the Mercer children and he gets to do to his cinematic brothers what was done to him as kid in South Boston. "Playing [Bobby Mercer] was ideal," notes Wahlberg because through improvisation, he recycles jeers from his childhood. And as Bobby Mercer, Wahlberg's unscripted one liners are occasionally cruel - especially a few directed at the youngest Mercer, Jack, played by Garrett Hedlund. Off camera, Wahlberg admits that he would always apologize for what he said during a scene. He also states that the taunts were part of that "tough love/brotherly thing."

The ribbing prevalent throughout Four Brothers helps to establish the tone of the film where big boys don't cry (at least not in front of each other) and where they demand justice for the righteous. The righteous one in this instance is Evelyn Mercer, a woman with a heart of gold who adopted and raised four children that no one wanted. When Evelyn Mercer is gunned down, her four sons commit to avenging her death.

Bobby Mercer, the baddest bad ass of the quartet, is not unlike the actor that portrays him. Wahlberg, a toughie from Southie, has admitted to past run-ins with the law and a prison stint as a youngster in Boston. Wahlberg draws on this past to create the flawed anti-hero Bobby, who is deeply saddened upon the death of his mother

"[My background] has always been in the reserve tank. It's right there for me to tap into, but I have to contain it," says Mark. "During this movie, I started becoming this guy and the people that work with me and for me didn't appreciate it too much," he acknowledges.

Despite performing in a dramatic troupe as a teen, Benjamin never gave much thought to acting. However, his performance in music videos caught the eye of filmmakers and his phone started ringing. After auditioning for roles several times, he began to enjoy himself. But Benjamin is quick to point out that the experience of performing in videos and in movies is incomparable.

"Video and films are totally different because in videos you're hiding behind the music and you pretty much lip synch," reveals Benjamin. "In film, when they yell action…you have to believe it and you have to go into [the character]," he continues.

Benjamin isn't the only recording artist that is part of the main cast in Four Brothers. Also gracing the screen is Wahlberg, the former hip hop Marky Mark, and Tyrese Gibson, know musically by his first name. Gibson, who appears in his third film with director Singleton, has nothing but love for the man who demanded that he pursue acting. "John Singleton can call me with anything because I know he's only going to call me with the right stuff," he says.

Gibson jokingly recalls the day Singleton pitched Baby Boy to him. Tyrese was living in Hawthorne, California at the time. Singleton showed up at his house and began telling him about the film. But Gibson resisted Singleton's urgings telling the director, "I can relate to the story, but I'm still not interested in acting."

According to Tyrese, Singleton shifted tactics. Singleton started reading the script to him, trying to force him to consider the lead role in Baby Boy. When that didn't work, Gibson lightheartedly remembers Singleton exploding in exasperation with a "'Fuck this! Read this script man,'" Tyrese chuckles. Finally, Gibson focused, read the script and the results are available on screen.

"Even with the outcome of Baby Boy, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Four Brothers, I can't believe that I'm actually doing it," effuses Tyrese. "I can't believe that [Singleton] sees that much in me and believes in me to put me in these big positions. I love John Singleton. He could call me with anything and I would be on board. No problem," Gibson affirms.

"John must love him too because he make so much fun of John," interjects Wahlberg. "He calls John, John Wrinkleton, because his clothes are wrinkled. He makes fun of John nonstop, all day," discloses Mark, taking this chance to remind Gibson of the jokes he cracked on set.

Wahlberg also reveals that the brotherly insults that were nonstop on set continue "I hadn't seen these guys in a couple of months. We get to the ESPYs. I get out of the car. I'm happy to see them and the first thing they talk about is my shoes, my hair, my jacket...," states Mark.

Interrupting, Gibson ponders, "I'm still trying to find out, where you get a hat THAT big?" As Wahlberg squirms, Gibson smiles broadly and points to Mark's seemingly oversized Red Sox baseball cap.

Ignoring him, Mark notes "I was so happy that Garrett was cast in the movie because I found someone with a bigger head than mine…. I think since then, he had head reduction surgery or he did something with his hair or his face shrunk because his head is not as big as it was [on set]."

Of the main cast, apparently Hedlund was the only novice at playing the dozens. "Tyrese and others were riding Garrett so hard that he asked me for jokes to say to the guys. He got a couple from me. He got a couple from Terrence [Howard]," Mark recalls.

"Oh, so now you tell me," Gibson responds feigning annoyance.

"That Chia pet joke… Terrence wrote that for Garrett," Wahlberg chuckles.

As the only actor of the four primary cast members without a career as a recording artist, ironically Hedlund's character Jack is a struggling rock guitarist. Hedlund is best known for his debut performance as Patroclus in Troy alongside Brad Pitt. Upon graduating from high school in Arizona, Garrett made his way to Hollywood and landed a coveted role in Wolfgang Peterson's film shortly after arriving in Lalaland. 

Prior to his big break, Hedlund read screenplays from older films, watched those films on video, and pretended he was auditioning for one of the roles in the film. The purpose of that study was to demonstrate "that there were no rules and that I could actually follow my own instincts," acknowledges Hedlund.

Unlike cast mate Benjamin, Hedlund was no stranger to ice hockey or cold weather. Four Brothers was filmed on location in frigid Ontario and a few scenes were shot on frozen Lake Simcoe, north of Toronto. Despite his roots in Minnesota, Hedlund admitted that at some point his "blood thinned out."

For southerner Benjamin, the cold was a shock to his system. "I've never been that cold in my life. My mouth would freeze up. I would have to warm up my mouth to say my lines," Andre acknowledges. 

Another surprise for Benjamin was his need to pass muster on ice skates. The film called for the Mercer children to share a love of pick-up ice hockey and there would be no stunt doubles - even for the skating novice Benjamin.

Gibson who is every bit the athlete was very proficient at rollerblading having skated to school in Watts if funds were low. "When I couldn't find a quarter to get to school, I'd always pull those skates out and get there," he remembers. "It's just like inline skating. You just go from the rollerblades to ice skates. I was out there doing my thing," he brags. Regardless of their level of proficiency, daily skating and hockey lessons were scheduled. 

Through the process of learning the difference between a hat trick and a slap shot, bonds formed among the cast. If the camaraderie that they continue to exude is long-lasting, then don't be surprised if Wahlberg, Gibson, Benjamin and Hedlund meet occasionally for a brotherly game of Turkey cup.  M

August 2005