Underrated Mark Wahlberg thriller climbs Netflix chart

Gabriela Silva
Mark Wahlberg in Fear as David.

Before being known for his major movie hits like Ted, Father Stu, and Pain & Gain, Mark Wahlberg starred in a 1996 thriller that has recaptured interest on Netflix.

Mark Wahlberg has had an interesting career, from being a hip-hop artist known as Marky Mark to shifting gears to become an actor. Today, many know him for some of his more famous blockbusters, including Rockstar, Patriots Day, Four Brothers, The Fighter, Lone Survivor, and more.

Besides the action genre, he’s also made a name for himself in comedy. He starred alongside Denzel Washington in 2 Guns, starred alongside a teddy bear in Ted, and took on a role in The Other Guys. He was also the mind behind the hit series Entourage.

But there’s one of Wahlberg’s earliest movie roles that only devoted thriller fans know about, and it’s recently started climbing Netflix charts.

Mark Wahlberg starred in Fear

The 1996 movie Fear starring Mark Wahlberg alongside Reese Witherspoon has just reached the Netflix Top 10 chart after dropping on the streaming platform earlier this month. You can check out the full list as it currently stands below:

  1. Spaceman
  2. Code 8: Part II
  3. The Super Mario Bros Movie
  4. Think Like a Man Too
  5. Noah
  6. 27 Dresses
  7. Turbo
  8. Code 8
  9. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
  10. Fear

Fear is a psychological thriller about a wealthy family who are landed in danger when their teenage daughter starts dating a shady guy.

The film is the third of Wahlberg’s career, following on from Renaissance Man and The Basketball Diaries. The 1996 movie proved the actor had what it takes to play more sinister roles.

As per the synopsis, Nicole Walker (Witherspoon) lives in Seattle with her father and his new wife and son. She’s in the woes of her teenage years and meets 23-year-old David McCall (Wahlberg) at a local cafe. They then meet again at a rave party and she becomes enchanted by him. But sooner rather than later, he begins to have a bad influence on her and her father starts to notice.

David becomes increasingly possessive and jealous of Nicole, leading to turmoil. He’s not the sweet and kind guy from the East coast that Nicole believes him to be. The movie has recaptured interest after becoming available to stream on Netflix.

According to HuffPost, DiCaprio was originally considered for the role of David. He felt he wasn’t right for the role and gave in a good word about Wahlberg. As per Sun Journal, he was so convincing as David that he felt people were afraid of him. He was even nominated for Best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards.

Fear is now available on Netflix. You can also check out what other movies are worth streaming this month, and what new movies are coming to the big screen.

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About The Author

Gabriela is a Senior TV and Movies Writer for Dexerto covering Netflix, Disney+, K-Dramas and everything in between. She has a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Fordham, and was previously a TV Writer for Showbiz Cheatsheet and List Witer for Screenrant. You can contact Gabriela at gabriela.silva@dexerto.com