Wealth & Money Quote by Mark Wahlberg

Wahlberg’s blunt little brag is really a quiet defense of a career move people love to sneer at: leveraging a body, a brand, and a moment of cultural heat to buy long-term agency. “Running around in my underwear” is deliberately deflating language for a thing that was, in the Calvin Klein era, closer to pop-cultural coronation than mere gig. He’s puncturing the glamour on purpose, reducing it to a job with a paycheck, which lets him sound practical instead of vain.

The intent is economic clarity. Modeling, especially in its most sexualized form, is often treated as unserious or even morally suspect. Wahlberg reframes it as seed capital. Money in the pockets equals creative freedom later: the ability to pick “interesting movies” rather than chase rent. It’s a working-class logic applied to celebrity, and that’s why it lands. He’s not claiming purity; he’s claiming strategy.

There’s subtext, too, about masculinity and humiliation. A male star admitting he got paid to be objectified is a mild taboo, so he converts potential embarrassment into grit: I did what I had to do, and it worked. The line also reveals a savvy understanding of Hollywood’s invisible tax: early fame can trap you into safe roles, but financial security can buy risk.

Context matters: Wahlberg’s rise from tabloid volatility into bankable actor-producer comes with constant reputation management. This quote is reputation management with a smirk, turning underwear into a stepping-stone and selling hustle as authenticity.