When you think of action heroes, there are many reasons why you wouldn’t think of Steve Bannon — the former Breitbart exec and Donald Trump’s former chief strategist who was unceremoniously ousted from the White House last summer. But Bannon has, against the odds, proved some form of inspiration for Mark Wahlberg’s latest character.
Mile 22 sees the actor once again team up with director Peter Berg, this time as James Silva — an American operative tasked with escorting Iko Uwais’ Li Noor across 22 miles of enemy territory. In an interview with Empire Berg referred to Silva as “the first bipolar action hero”, and cited an unlikely reference point for Wahlberg’s performance – the explosive and erratic speeches of Steve Bannon.
“We’re not commenting on his politics, but the fact he’s able to fly off the handle at any moment,” Berg told Empire. “We watched a 60 Minutes interview Steve Bannon did, and you know, love or hate him, the guy is kind of mesmerising. So we borrowed some of his things. Mark does a good Steve Bannon.”
Read the full Berg and Wahlberg interview in the August issue of Empire, on sale now at all good and evil newsagents. You’ll be able to catch Mile 22 — and look out for Bannon’s influence in Wahlberg’s performance — from 19 September.
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