By Rochelle Hentges
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Fifteen years ago, Donnie Wahlberg was performing in front of thousands of screaming, prepubescent girls. Last Friday, he was repeating the same five minutes of dialogue for several hours in front of an audience of a few dozen.

"There's nothing like being on stage in front of 50,000 people, and it's just mass hysteria," Donnie said while on the Lawrenceville set of "The Kill Point," a Spike TV series set in Pittsburgh. But the 37-year-old New Kid on the Block-turned-actor said he prefers his thespian side, which gives him a "different kind of rush" than the screaming throngs of fans.

Tomorrow, Donnie will take his metaphorical bow as "The Kill Point" wraps four months of filming. Donnie plays hostage negotiator Horst Cali opposite John Leguizamo, the bank heist leader in the series set to premiere July 22.

It's not the first time Donnie has played an authority figure. His credits include Detective Eric Matthews in "Saw II" and "III"; Det. Joel Stevens in the critically acclaimed "Boomtown" TV series; and Det. Jim Lipton in "Dead Silence," the horror film released earlier this year.

It's an interesting turn for the supposed "bad boy" of the New Kids on the Block.

"Well, it didn't take much to be the bad boy in that group," said Donnie, who was known to curse during performances and in 1991 had a run-in with the law after allegedly trying to set fire to a hotel room with a Molotov cocktail. The arson charges were dropped after he agreed to do public service announcements.

Donnie attributes his former antics to being young and rebellious in an industry that seemed manipulative. "It's more of a hustle in the music business," he said. "The whole industry is designed to take care of the artist last."

It's one of the reasons Donnie transitioned to professional acting, he said, although he acted some in grade school, as well. Donnie is often overshadowed by his younger brother and Academy Award-nominated actor, Mark Wahlberg. It's even been suggested the eccentric older brother character in the HBO series "Entourage," produced by Mark, is based on Donnie. But he's no Johnny Drama, he says.

"If you believe that, you believe Mark is anything like Adrian Grenier," he said, referring to the actor who plays pretty-boy Vincent Chase in the series. "I've never been part of Mark's entourage. On the contrary, he was part of my entourage."

Donnie said he sometimes watches "Entourage" and likes the character, but it is, in fact, based on a guy named Johnny Drama, rumored to be their cousin. Plus, Donnie's not out of work. The former musician has kept a steady string of roles since the mid-90s and is in negotiations for a movie deal.

"It is with two of the greatest actors ever. I'm really excited about it," Donnie said, declining to give more details because it hasn't become official yet. And if Spike TV picks up a second season of "The Kill Point," Donnie could be back to the "Steel City," taking on a different criminal in the TV series.

"I'd love to stay working in Pittsburgh, that's for sure," he said. "I grew up in Boston, very blue collar. You get the same kind of vibe here.

"It's just real people here. It's a working class city. I feel at home here, even though I hate the Steelers."

Letting that little piece of blasphemy slide, we wonder what sights Donnie has managed to see between filming.

"I find I don't enjoy a place when I see too much. I don't like to feel obligated to see the sights," he said, explaining he hasn't done the "typical touristy things" like the Warhol museum. So what's Donnie been doing with his limited free time?

Hitting up the local eateries, it seems. Wahlberg revealed his top spots include Tessaro's in Bloomfield, the new Big Mama's House of Soul in the Strip District and Harp & Fiddle, also in the Strip.

"When I go to a new city, I just try to blend in," he said. "I go to the local pub, the local convenience store."

Originally appeared at: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review