It would seem unlikely that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon would inspire a fictional action hero — but that appears to be the case, according to some new interviews by director Peter Berg (“Lone Survivor,” “Deepwater Horizon”).
Berg’s latest work stars Mark Wahlberg as an intelligence agent at the head of a secret group that is fighting terrorism around the globe.
The group is tasked with moving a mysterious police office with sensitive information to the U.S.
“We’re not commenting on his politics, but the fact [is] he’s able to fly off the handle at any moment,” Berg told Empire recently. “We watched a ’60 Minutes’ interview Steve Bannon did, and you know, love or hate him, the guy is kind of mesmerizing. So we borrowed some of his things. Mark does a good Steve Bannon.”
“It was hard not to be mesmerized with how that guy’s mind works,” the director also told “Fox & Friends” in a separate interview about the connection between the controversial conservative and Wahlberg’s CIA officer.
He also said Bannon is an “intense” and “hard-speaking, hard-charging human being.” He said they took some of that “Bannon intensity” and put it into Wahlberg’s character. The director had his actor study the conservative strategist.
Bannon rose to fame as the director of right-leaning documentaries such as “The Undefeated” and “Occupy Unmasked.” He went on to become the executive chairman of Breitbart News and later the chief strategist for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign; he then worked in the Trump White House for a time before leaving under a cloud of controversy.
The 64-year-old also spent seven years in the Navy.
Berg and Wahlberg, meanwhile, occupy a rare space in Hollywood, since neither of them opens up much about their personal politics. Wahlberg has expressed dissatisfaction with celebrities who comment on politics; and Berg never injects politics into his films, despite telling real-life stories in movies such as “Lone Survivor,” “Deepwater Horizon,” and “Patriots Day.”
Berg told “Fox & Friends” he finds inspiration in the stories of first responders.
Watch Mark Wahlberg talk more about “Mile 22” in the video below:
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.