Mark Wahlberg Recalls Saying Goodbye to His Mom Alma

Nearly a year ago, Mark Wahlberg lost his mom Alma Wahlberg, who died at the age of 78.

Wahlberg was filming his movie “Father Stu” when he heard about her passing.

“Extra’s” Jenn Lahmers spoke with Wahlberg, who revealed, “It was tough. She was very sick, went home to visit her… say goodbye… FaceTiming constantly… We knew that it was inevitable… I just tried to hold on and be as positive as possible.”

Remembering his late mom, Mark said, “She was an amazing person… She taught us all through all the difficulties that we had and face… She was very proud that we turned our lives around.”

In “Father Stu,” Wahlberg stars as a wannabe boxer turned priest who suffers a degenerative and incurable muscular disorder.

The movie is based on the life of Father Stuart Long, who leaned on his faith to continue his ministry, which is something that Wahlberg can relate to! He noted, “It’s my faith that introduced me to a positive effect from doing something good, so once I experienced that I didn’t want to do anything else.”

As for portraying Long, who died in 2014 at the age of 50, Wahlberg said, “The reason why he was so effective was because he was authentic… He was speaking the truth from experience, and that’s invaluable… He’s such a remarkable man. It was an honor for me to portray him in the film and to tell his story.”

Wahlberg is about to turn 50 — what would he say to his younger self? He answered, “I could say whatever I want till I was blue in the face, he wasn't gonna listen. I’m trying to talk to my kids now. Ya know what they say? Youth is wasted on the young, right?”

Mark is getting ripped again after packing on 40 lbs. to play “Father Stu.”

It wasn’t as fun to gain weight. Mark explained, “The first two weeks, I ate 7,000 calories a day and [the] last four weeks, I ate 11,000 calories a day.”

Mark wasn’t eating “fun foods” like cakes or chocolate bars, but instead was eating steaks, baked potatoes, bacon, and eggs. He was even drinking olive oil!

When asked why he didn’t just wear a suit that made him looke like he had gained weight, Wahlberg commented, “I actually had to still use the suits sometimes,” but they couldn’t afford CGI since he was “financing” it with his own money.