Mark Wahlberg Was (Briefly) Part Of New Kids On The Block

Summary

Mark Wahlberg’s career took a different path from being in the boyband New Kids on the Block to becoming a successful actor.
The band didn’t have the name New Kids on the Block during Mark’s time, and they only took on the name after he left.
Mark Wahlberg’s life before his movie career involved a troubled past, music success as Marky Mark, and eventually transitioning into becoming a versatile actor, earning an Oscar nomination.

Mark Wahlberg‘s career almost took a very different path as he was an early member of a boyband — but while Mark Wahlberg was in New Kids On The Block, their history is complicated. In the early 1990s, Mark Wahlberg was best known as musician/Calvin Klein model Marky Mark, but his career took a sharp left turn once he focused on becoming an actor instead. Following roles in The Basketball Diaries and Fear, he landed the lead in 1997’s acclaimed Boogie Nights which began his rise to movie stardom.

Mark Wahlberg’s journey from Marky Mark to receiving an Academy Award nod as part of the cast of The Departed is an interesting one. Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch were launched to fame with their hit single “Good Vibrations” in 1991, but despite their first album being a success, the band burned out quickly. Their next album You Gotta Believe flopped, leading the group to split in 1993. Yet before his movie career, there was another musical path he almost went down thanks to the little-known Mark Wahlberg New Kids on the Block connection.

Wahlberg Was In New Kids On The Block Before They Had The Name

Marky Mark Wasn’t In The Final Lineup

Before he was Marky Mark, Mark Wahlberg was — technically – in New Kids On The Block, although he wasn’t part of the lineup fans of the band will recognize from the height of their fame. Wahlberg was in the band that would become New Kids On The Block, but they didn’t take the name until after Wahlberg left the group.

When Mark Wahlberg was included in the lineup, the band went by the name of Nynuk (pronounced “na-nook”). He joined with his older brother Donnie Wahlberg and alongside members Danny Wood and Jordan Knight. Once the younger Wahlberg left the group, Joey McIntyre joined and they took on their new name that would bring them fame.

According to official New Kids On The Block biographer Nikki Van Noy, it’s a nonsense word that doesn’t really mean anything (via the Boston Globe). Nynuk formed in the early 1980s after Maurice Starr decided to create a new boy band. Interestingly, it was Mark’s brother Donnie who drew Starr’s attention long before he had his own acting career, including 14 seasons of Blue Bloods.

Mark Wahlberg left the group after only a few months, a fair while before they changed names from Nynuk to New Kids On The Block at the behest of Columbia Records. It’s also worth noting that Mark Wahlberg wouldn’t perform as Marky Mark until the 1990s, and he didn’t use the name when with Nynuk.

What Mark Wahlberg Did After New Kids On The Block

Following the Mark Wahlberg New Kids on the Block era, his dark teenage years have been well chronicled, and Wahlberg’s life even directly inspired Entourage. By his own admission, he’d developed a cocaine addiction by the age of thirteen and took part in several racially motivated attacks around his neighborhood. After being sent to prison for 45 days following a vicious assault, he turned back to music, and with his brother Donnie’s aid, he became Marky Mark and went platinum with The Funky Bunch with their 1991 album, “Music for the People.”

Wahlberg made music right up until 1998, at which point he turned to the big screen. Though Wahlberg’s time as Marky Mark made some question how seriously he could be taken as an actor, his role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights cemented him as a true young talent. Before long, Wahlberg began building a career as a blockbuster star with high-profile movies like A Perfect Storm, The Italian Job, and the Transformers movies. He also continued to show off his impressive dramatic skills with award-winning movies like Three Kings and The Fighter.

A career milestone came when Wahlberg earned his first Oscar nomination for his scene-stealing role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. After a decade in the movie business, Wahlberg continued to surprise audiences, displaying excellent comedic skills in The Other Guys opposite Will Ferrell. This led to a new phase of Wahlberg’s career filled with comedy roles like Ted, Daddy’s Home, and Instant Family, proving just how far he’s come from the Mark Wahlberg New Kids on the Block days.