Mark Wahlberg hopes that there will be a sequel to “The Fighter.” The Best Picture nominee contended for seven Oscars in all, winning the supporting prizes for Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. “The Fighter” was a labor of love for Wahlberg, who shepherded the project about pugilist Micky Ward for five years. Such was his level of involvement that he satisfied the stringent requirements of the academy and was credited as a producer for that Best Picture bid.
In a candid conversation with Jeff Labrecque (EW), Wahlberg reveals, “I’m trying to plant the idea in everyone’s head that we should do — not five or six ‘Fighters’ like ‘Rocky’ — but one more because the big thing that Micky Ward was famous for was his three epic battles with Arturo Gatti.”
As for being snubbed for his performance, Wahlberg says simply, “I remember Micky calling me and apologizing. He was upset that I didn’t get nominated, I was like, ‘It’s all good, dude.’ He was like, ‘No, if I had been crazier in real life, you woulda gotten it.’ I was like, ‘Dude, don’t worry about it.'”
