Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry are starring together in a new movie, but their bond goes back years.
“We get on really well. We both come from really humble beginnings and we’ve worked really hard to get to where we are. We have a lot in common and we enjoy each other’s company,” Wahlberg told Fox News Digital.
Backstage, Wahlberg admitted he was surprised by it, adding that Berry is “so funny” and “so relatable.”
“I think what people appreciate most is that she is who she seems,” he said. “She can do it all. She has the natural talent and gift and has done it all as an actor, director, producer. But the person that you see on social media and in interviews is kind, funny, energetic but also who she seems and very relatable. I don’t have high expectations because she’s not only amazing but she’s so sweet. It’s amazing.”
Mark Wahlberg told Fox News Digital that his “amazing” co-star Halle Berry is “the sweetest.” (Laura Radford/Netflix)
Mark Wahlberg is ‘living every guy’s dream’ but admits on-screen romance is ‘a little strange’
Both Wahlberg and Berry struggled early in their careers before becoming A-list stars.
Berry began competing in beauty pageants in Ohio, and told Vogue in 2021 that she wore a prom dress when she won Miss World because “I couldn’t afford a real dress.”
WATCH: Mark Wahlberg talks about bonding with Halle Berry through ‘humble beginnings’
“That dress got me so far. I became Miss Ohio and then I wore it to become Miss Teen America and Miss USA at the world pageants,” she added.
The “X-Men” star also spent some time in a homeless shelter after running out of money and moving to New York to pursue an acting career.

Berry told Vogue in 2021 that she wore a prom dress when she won Miss World because she “couldn’t afford a real dress.” (PA Images via Getty Images)
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“Three months later, I had no money,” Berry told People magazine in 2017. “I called my mom and asked her to send me money, but she said no. I was so upset that she wouldn’t help me, I didn’t speak to her for a year after that.”
“But I think that was one of the best things she ever did for me,” Berry added. “She was like, ‘If you want to be there, be there and figure it out for yourself,’ and I had to figure it out,” the actress added.
“We both come from really humble beginnings and have worked really hard to get to where we are today. We have a lot in common and enjoy each other’s company.”
Wahlberg grew up the youngest of nine children in Boston’s working-class Dorchester neighborhood and was plagued by a string of violent incidents, followed by trouble with drugs and police.
“The advantage for me is that I can bring all of my real-life experiences to the job,” he told The Guardian in 2020. “I think audiences can definitely sense the authenticity, but it came at a great cost.”

“I think audiences will definitely see the authenticity, but it comes at a great cost,” Wahlberg told The Guardian. (Paul Natkin/WireImage)
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Both stars ultimately found success in acting, garnering numerous awards and accolades, including Berry’s historic Academy Award win for Best Actress.
Wahlberg previously told Fox News Digital that the two have “known each other for a long time,” and their understanding of one another made it easy to create the chemistry they needed for their new film, “The Union.”

Wahlberg said the bond between him and Berry contributed to their strong chemistry on the film. (Laura Radford/Netflix © 2024/Getty Images)
“It was natural,” he says, “but I think men and women really feel like there’s no one better than Halle Berry, or that no one could believe that a man would wait 25 years to see her again.”
In the film, Wahlberg plays Mike, a construction worker who reunites with his ex-high school sweetheart, Roxanne, but Roxanne has more in store for Mike than just reminiscing – she ends up drawing him into the action-packed world of secret agents and espionage.

Wahlberg has said his character is like a “blue-collar James Bond.” (Laura Radford/Netflix)
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Wahlberg described his role as a “blue-collar James Bond” and said that concept was “the genesis of the movie.”
“[I]will probably never play James Bond, but that’s OK? I completely understand that. We can do our own version,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “And so we came up with this idea, and next thing we know, we pitched it to Netflix… and they loved the idea, and here we are.”
“The Union” will premiere on Netflix on August 16th.