Mark Wahlberg went a round with temptation at the Cinema Society party for his movie “The Fighter” on Friday night. Temptation lost.
The 39-year-old actor and “Entourage” executive producer, who plays boxer “Irish” Micky Ward in David O. Russell’s riveting film, was on his best behavior at the post-screening party at the Top of the Standard – preferring to throw punches for the cameras than get hit on by female fans.
Indeed, when a young beauty approached him in the VIP section with the line, “Well, I’m the single girl and you’re the married man,” Wahlberg wasn’t amused.
Wahlberg preferred to cut loose on the red carpet with co-star Christian Bale, who plays his older half-brother Dickie Eklund, a washed-up boxer who overcomes his demons to help his little bro shine. (The film, which is sure to be a contender in the Oscar ring, had the audience cheering.)
When we asked Wahlberg whether he or the intense Bale would win in a boxing match, he replied: “Myself. No question.”
He drove the point home when Bale arrived over an hour late to the Men’s Health-sponsored screening at the School of Visual Arts.
Wahlberg ducked behind a photographer and yelled, “Hey, Christian, who would win in a fight between you and Mark?”
“You know the answer to that, mate. Don’t start,” replied a smiling Bale, who later told a reporter: “I think I’d win.”
The most interesting answer came from New York native Melissa Leo, who’s unforgettable as the men’s mother. “It would matter entirely who got off the first blow,” she told us.
Our other favorite red-carpet moment came when Wahlberg ran into fashion designer Calvin Klein, who helped make the former Marky Mark an international star in the early 1990s by casting the then-rapper in his underwear ads.
The all grown-up Wahlberg greeted Klein with a smile, saying: “Hey, buddy, you staying out of trouble?”
The svelte, 67-year-old fashion designer, who attended with model Nick Gruber — to whom he’s been linked in the media — and another Bieberesque male, smiled at Wahlberg and replied: “Trying!”
