If you didn’t know Mark Wahlberg and saw him for the first time on Jay Leno’s show, you would think he was a nice, respectable young actor. You would have no idea of his history. A history even he joked about. Wahlberg spent much of the interview talking about his childhood, being the youngest of nine kids. He also joked with Jay about having just had his third child, his upcoming wedding and trying to sell his house…to Jay, “come on, Jay, help out a fellow Bostonian!” (He did his homework! Good move.)

Walberg’s low-key persona is quite the opposite of that previously mentioned wild history that inspired the series Entourage, which he produces.  It’s a history which is best described in his own words – when Jay asked about how he would deal with his kids finding out about it – he said “I’m trying to figure out how I can destroy evidence or come up with…I have a few years to figure out a good excuse, but I [will] have a lot of explaining to do. Between my music career, the underwear stuff and Boogie Nights, I don’t know how I’m gonna explain that!”

Wahlberg did talk about his new film Max Payne and did a good job explaining its origins as a video game.  Once again, playing against character, he said he chose the role because after playing a science teacher and an accountant in his last films, he felt the need to “bust some heads.”

From rapper to sex symbol to edgy actor to smooth talk show guest, the adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover” really applies here. Can’t wait to see what’s next.