How was it working with Mark Wahlberg?
Mark is a sweetheart. He was so perfect for the part. He’s from that area, he’s from a real working-class background, with eight or nine brothers and sisters. And his accent is genuine. He was really into researching the characters. He slept in the real Bobby Shatford’s room at the Crow’s Nest [bar] for a few weeks. He was there all the time, hanging out in the bar, playing pool with the guys, listening to them talk. He started deep friendships with the Shatfords and with Bobby’s mother, who was still alive at the time but who recently passed away. He really took this movie seriously. He’s great in the part and I think he has a great future. He’s only 28 or 29 years old, but he will be a big star. Is the ocean the real star in this movie? The real star is the storm. Originally, I was planning to cast Mel Gibson as the lead, but it didn’t work out. He was doing “The Patriot.” We had serious talks, but it was too tricky with his schedule. And there was the fact that he’s a superstar — h
