How Justin Bieber Made Mark Wahlberg a Grown-Up

Mark Wahlberg attends the TIME 100 Gala, TIME’S 100 Most Influential People In The World at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 26, 2011 in New York City. Photo: Stephen Lovekin/2011 Getty Images

Earlier this year, Mark Wahlberg worried that the likes of young upstart Taylor Lautner had made him and Leonardo DiCaprio “obsolete” — and apparently, it’s something that’s remained on the 40-year-old actor’s mind. Wahlberg recently discussed an upcoming movie project about street basketball that would team him with Justin Bieber, and after comparing the film to The Color of Money, Wahlberg admitted how surprised he was to take on the “Paul Newman” role. “So I get this call from Paramount [with a story about] an old guy and a young guy,” he told MTV. “I’m like, ‘Cool, let’s get Jack [Nicholson]. Let’s get Robert De Niro. Let’s get Robert Duvall.’ And they go, ‘What about Garrett Hedlund?’ I’m like, ‘For what?’ They’re like, ‘For the young guy.’” Still, Wahlberg is sure that Bieber’s got the goods: “I see the guy and we spent time with him, and you see what he does and how he does it, but then you actually have a conversation with him, and it’s there. It’s there — and if not, I will extract it.”

How Justin Bieber Made Mark Wahlberg a Grown-Up