Mark Wahlberg still trying to hit stride

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NEW YORK -- Just who is Mark Wahlberg? The Massachusetts native certainly isn't a pop star anymore. His Marky Mark persona has long since been laid to rest, along with the preening underwear ads. After critically praised performances in "Boogie Nights" (1997) and "Three Kings" (1999) and a monster box-office hit with "The Perfect Storm" (2000), he emerged as an A-list movie talent. But now his reign as a leading man seems to be in jeopardy. He elicited critical yawns for his turns in "The Yards" (2000) and "Rock Star" (2001). Two much-hyped remakes in which he starred, Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" (2001) and last year's "The Truth About Charlie," both bombed.

Now comes yet another remake, "The Italian Job," a cheeky heist film banking, in part, on Mr. Wahlberg's bad-boy-turned-good appeal.

The actor, promoting the new film during a recent press gathering in Manhattan, sounds as if he isn't sure himself about his acting chops.

"I still feel like I have so much to learn," says Mr. Wahlberg, those telltale biceps bulging out from a plain white T-shirt. "And who better to learn from than filmmakers?"

The young actor's list of instructors is impressive, from Paul Thomas Anderson to Jonathan Demme.

Not all those films turned out as he had hoped, the actor says, but that doesn't mean he could afford to turn them down.

"Tim Burton calls me and says, 'Do you wanna make a movie?' I say, 'Great.' It turns out to be 'Planet of the Apes,' which I wasn't a big fan of. My whole thing is doing stuff that's reality-based. But how many times am I going to get the chance to work with him? The same thing with Jonathan," he says, referring to "Charlie," last year's ill-advised "Charade" remake directed by Mr. Demme.

Working with "Italian Job" director F. Gary Gray gave him the chance to learn how to make a thief palatable to the masses.

Mr. Gray asked Mr. Wahlberg to get the audience on his side. "It was important for the film, in which the central character is a crook, that he's likable," Mr. Wahlberg says.