'The Fighter' Premiere Is End Of A Journey For Mark Wahlberg

'It was a struggle and a fight the whole way, and it was well worth it,' star says.
By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Vanessa White Wolf

Mark Wahlberg arrives at "The Fighter" premiere in Hollywood on Monday
Photo: Jason Merritt/ Getty Images

"I never thought the movie would see the light of day," Mark Wahlberg said as the flashbulbs popped all around him outside the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. "It's incredible."

Well, not only has "The Fighter" seen the light of day, but it has established itself as a front-runner to nab a slew of Oscar nominations, including a Best Actor nod for Wahlberg. He struggled for years to get cameras rolling on this true story of boxing legend Micky Ward and his brother and trainer Dickie, cycling through directors like Darren Aronofsky and co-stars such as Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. The picture hit one roadblock after another, but Walhberg kept training, no matter how difficult it was.

"Just getting up at 4 in the morning, not knowing if the movie was going to happen or not," Wahlberg told MTV News about the most challenging aspect of making the film. "Continuing to train when the movie fell apart, when one of my co-stars backed out."

Christian Bale eventually replaced Damon as Dickie and David O. Russell hopped into the director's chair. But for Wahlberg, that fight to make the movie mirrored his character's real-life struggle to transform himself from underdog to championship contender.

"It was a commitment I made to Micky and Dickie and the rest of the family and to myself that we were going to get this movie made, and it was well worth the fight," he explained. "The journey of making the movie was very much like Micky's journey. It was a struggle and a fight the whole way, and it was well worth it. The end result is fantastic."

Check out everything we've got on "The Fighter."

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