Arthur The King: Mark Wahlberg Opens Up About His Spiritual Connection With Film’s Titular Dog

Mark Wahlberg is starring opposite a canine co-star. Arthur The King unites Wahlberg’s Michael Light, an adventure racer based off of real-life athlete Mikael Lindnord, with Ukai’s Arthur, a stray dog that joins his team’s competition. Wahlberg and Ukai shot all of their scenes together, with limited movie magic pulling off their bond.

“There was definitely some magic happening. I always felt like we didn’t have any real way to manipulate his performance or any of that,” Wahlberg told ComicBook.com “He and I were locked in and engaged emotionally in a very real way. We were there together, and I never had to kind of drum up anything else to create that emotion or that feeling.”

ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley referenced the old saying that “God is ‘dog’ spelled backwards,” which Wahlberg, a very public man of faith, echoed.

“God’s got a hand in all of it,” Wahlberg continued. “He certainly didn’t put me in a position where I can forget about where I came from. He wants to fulfill his purpose, not mine. Even though I always keep making plans, He keeps changing them.”

While his faith makes up the biggest portion of Wahlberg’s social presence, his dedication to physical fitness is a close second. 

The Academy Award nominee famously starts his days at 2:30 AM, works out at least twice, divides his hours into family time and business responsibilities, and hits the hay by 7:30 PM.

“It changed quite a bit,” Wahlberg said about how his daily routine altered in preparation for Arthur The King. “I was trying to train to be an adventure racer. Running, hiking, climbing, cycling, kayaking, all that stuff. I was rowing a lot until I tore my meniscus and then everything kind of changed. Then I had to do corrective exercise and just do things to allow me to be able to finish the film, but you always want to look the part. 

“Having to train for five years to get The Fighter made, as much as it was a pain in the butt, it allowed me to look like a guy who could win the welterweight title versus an actor who is hitting the mitts for six weeks or eight weeks. Everything happens for a reason. We always want to believe that I could be that guy.”

Arthur The King hits theaters on Friday, March 15th.