In the last year, Donnie Wahlberg has popped up all over the tube.
        He starred in the short-lived CW series “Runaway.” He played undercover cop Andy Burnett in A & E’s movie “Kings of South Beach.” Now he stars as hostage negotiator Horst Cali in Spike TV’s new series “The Kill Point” (tonight at 9 p.m.).
         “I’ve been trying to have fun,” Wahlberg said. “I did a show a couple of years ago - a pilot that didn’t get picked up. It was a show called ‘N.Y.-70’ for NBC. It was the best character I ever played. It was the most fun I’ve ever had. It was the best pilot I’ve ever seen. And I’ve kind of been on a mission since then to find something close. Something fun, something where I have freedom and a character who is different and challenges me, and this character is the one. I tried a few other jobs and I kind of had elements of that. But this role in ‘The Kill Point’ is the closest I’ve had to actor bliss.”
     Having been the victim of premature cancellation (“Boomtown,” “Runaway”), he appreciates that Spike TV will air all eight episodes of the series.
        “I have a network that believes in the show I’m doing and is committed to making it as successful as possible,” he said. “As an actor, I can only control what I do, but to have so much freedom and to have so much creative input, that’s really very difficult to come by in network television. Worst case, I’m going into the game with a team I feel good about and they believe in me and I believe in them. And whatever happens, happens.”
     In the series, Wahlberg spends much of his time talking to John Leguizamo’s bank robber Mr. Wolf on the phone. He had to adjust to not being in the same room with his co-star.
        “I think with acting sometimes you find that circumstances in real life tend to help,” Wahlberg said. “The lack of comfort and that lack of familiarity probably served the characters well in the performances. Because it would be uncomfortable. It would be awkward. It would be a little out of sync at times. It’s never really how it is in the movies. You know, most actors think they want to be as comfortable as possible, but a lot of times, the more uncomfortable you are, the more honesty it will lend to a scene.”
     He’s still mulling producing a television series based on his experiences growing up in Boston, but he’s busy with roles in front of the camera. Spike TV could greenlight a second season of “The Kill Point.”
        “It was meant to be a stand-alone series, but everybody feels so good about it that it’s definitely a possibility that it could come back. I would certainly come back for another round of playing this character.”

Originally appeared at: Boston Herald