Mark Wahlberg jokes about tapping into emotions

(Cover) - EN Movies - Mark Wahlberg isn't the kind of actor who will "think about his dead cat" to tap into emotion.

The Hollywood star understands people in the industry approach roles differently, but there are some methods he can't get his head around.

The actor never calls on past experience to help him when he's shooting a scene.

"Ooh, let me think about my dead cat. Let me think about the colour blue. Let me go into that little place in my room where I used to hide when I was seven," he deadpanned to British newspaper The Guardian.

"It might work for some people but that's not for me, dude, I have a different set of tools. All the real-life experience I have is an advantage. It's not just method and technique."

Part of what helps Mark portray his characters convincingly is that he only picks ones he is interested in.

In his latest release Broken City, the star plays a private detective called Billy Taggart. He finds himself uncovering a massive deception in his city and Mark wanted the role badly. He was interested in the character's need to do something positive with his life.

"I can't relate to the good-looking guy who's got no problems and has the girlfriend he's just slightly better looking than," he said. "I'm not the matinee idol type."

Mark famously got in trouble with the law when he was a teenager. Movie making helped him put that lifestyle behind him, although he sometimes wonders if his past is one of the reasons he's managed to become so successful.

"It's all about hustling, whether it's in Boston or the film industry. I've been hustling my entire life - acting my way into trouble and acting my way back out again. I'm just fortunate to have had the opportunity to apply it in a different direction," he said.