Mark Wahlberg’s 11,000-Calorie-a-Day Olive Oil Diet — for a Movie No One Remembers

Mark Wahlberg has built a career balancing Oscar-nominated performances with a puzzling number of critical flops. For every Boogie Nights, The Departed, or The Fighter, there’s a Max Payne, Daddy’s Home, or Transformers sequel. But few of his missteps were as bizarrely committed — or as calorically intense — as his 2022 drama Father Stu.

The faith-based biopic, in which Wahlberg both starred and produced, was released the same year as two of his most poorly reviewed films (Me Time and Uncharted), and while it wasn’t as universally derided, it failed to leave much of a mark. Still, Wahlberg approached the role with an intensity usually reserved for awards-season transformations — and paid for it in olive oil.

From Method Acting to “Method Eating”

Inspired by actors like Christian Bale and Daniel Day-Lewis, Wahlberg decided to physically embody Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-priest whose health deteriorates from a rare muscle disorder. To portray Long’s later years, Wahlberg gained 30 pounds in just six weeks — a transformation he achieved through an extreme diet that would make even competitive eaters wince.

“I started with 7,000 calories for the first two weeks and then 11,000 calories for the final four weeks,” he told Entertainment Weekly. The easiest way to hit those numbers? Glasses of olive oil.

The Dark Side of Overeating

While the idea of eating constantly might sound indulgent, Wahlberg insists it was grueling. “The first meal was amazing, because I hadn’t eaten anything up until that point,” he said. “But after that, when you’re already full and you have to eat again… at my age, it’s just not a healthy thing to do.”

And despite the calorie count, there was no endless pizza or ice cream binge. His regimen was clinical: two weeks of high protein, followed by two weeks of carb-loading, ending with starches and sodium to “get as bloated as possible.” In short, a carefully measured slog, not a cheat day fantasy.

A Commitment That Outlived the Movie

The transformation might have been worthy of a prestige drama, but Father Stu didn’t deliver the kind of cultural impact that justifies such physical punishment. Critics found it earnest but forgettable, the sort of mid-tier drama that disappears from memory by the time the credits finish rolling.

Wahlberg’s takeaway? Extreme weight gain isn’t worth the hype. “None of it was fun,” he admitted — a fitting summary for both the diet and, sadly, the movie it was meant to serve.