Actor's dark video game character

Bad boy rapper-turned-Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg has been telling Newsbeat about his latest movie, Max Payne, based on the best-selling video game of the same name. In it he plays a policeman hell bent on revenge after his wife and baby daughter are murdered after a botched robbery.

Wahlberg alongside That '70s Show star Mila Kunis in Max Payne

Did you play the game before you got the script?

Actually, I read the script, then they told me it was based on a video game so obviously then I checked it out. I mean I grew up playing video games, but it was like Pac-Man and stuff like that - I'm an old dude so there's no real stories to those games. When I checked out Max Payne I was impressed with how elaborate the story was and how cinematic the game itself was. And my buddies, we played it all day in the trailer while we were waiting to shoot.

Max Payne is a very dark character - was it hard going through so many different emotions?

I got three kids so, you know, just thinking [of] something horrible happening to them is enough to get me to that emotional place. And then, you know, you go out there and bust some heads. I was really looking forward to doing an action movie after playing in more serious films, you know, doing a couple of dramas. When I read Max Payne I thought it was perfect 'cause it had a lot of action but the character is driven by emotions.

That '70s Show actress Mila Kunis is your side-kick. Despite being about 5'2" (1.58m) she looks comfortable kicking the butts of guys twice her size!

Yeah, she's got a lot of edge - she's Russian. It's not about the size when you're portraying a character in a movie. It's all about the eyes and she's got quite a bit of edge. Between her and Olga Kurylenko there's plenty of eye candy for the guys.

Speaking of which, you kick Olga Kurylenko - the new Bond girl - out of bed in the movie. Any chance that would be the case in the real world?

Singer Nelly Furtado also stars in the film, out in the UK this week

Probably not - I mean, obviously before I was engaged to be married. The character would have had no integrity if he was trying to get revenge for the person who brutally murdered his wife and child and then made an exception because it's Olga. Guys obviously would understand but anybody else watching the movie wouldn't be so quick to root for a guy who was banging every hot chick that came along.

Ludacris, a fellow rapper turned actor, is also in the film. What was it like working with him?

Luda is a smart guy. I think he's gonna have a great career in the movies. You know, he's not too cool for questions or advice, he's really in it for the long haul. He's a talented guy, the part was originally written for like a 60-year-old white guy. We thought that wouldn't be as interesting. I'm interested to see what he does with the rest of his career.

So you two weren't freestyling on set then?

Nah, he was trying to get me to be on his album. I told him, 'You're gonna have to pay me a lot of money'.

So no more music for you then. What do you make of New Kids On The Block getting back together?

If they're happy, I'm happy. I ain't going back to that anytime soon, that's for sure, but whatever they wanna do.

Mark Wahlberg was speaking to Newsbeat reporter Nesta McGregor.