The Union cast – Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry, and Mike Colter – discuss finding your confidence and relating to the story in these interviews.
The Union follows Mike (played by Mark Wahlberg), a down-to-earth construction worker from Jersey, who is thrust into the world of super spies and secret agents after his high school sweetheart Roxanne (played by Halle Berry) recruits him on a high-stakes intelligence mission.
We spoke with Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry, and Mike Colter about their new Netflix film. They discuss all the action sequences and stunt work that went into the film, revealing if they do their own stunts or not. They also talk about the themes of the movie, including finding your confidence, wish fulfillment, and personal growth.
Mark Wahlberg & Halle Berry Loved Working Together
Mark Wahlberg: I’ve been waiting since I was 18 to work with Halle. Finally got the opportunity. And here’s the guy who waited 25 years for her, my character, for her to come back through that door, and he’s not gonna let the opportunity pass him by again. He’s gonna do anything to impress her, win her over.
Halle Berry: It was so fun. Mark and I have known each other for a very, very long time. So to realize that finally, after all these years, we got to work together, was, I realized it’s the thing I didn’t know I needed. When you’re with someone that grew in an era and a time in the business that I did, we had so many of the same references, film wise, musically, culturally. We just understood each other. And it was nice to be able to use that on film.
Mike Colter On Working With Halle Berry & Mark Wahlberg
Mike Colter: Mark and Halle come with a long list of credible references and experiences on their resume. So you just go, Okay, check, check, check, and check. They have all this stuff and they bring that to the table. Two veteran actors who have star quality and bring credibility to all the projects that they sign on to. I think it takes off the pressure of like, well, is this ever going to be seen?
Somebody’s going to see it so let’s try to figure out how to collaborate and make an interesting project. I think my character now has to come in and make it fun for their characters, because you have to have something to go up against. And there’s a dynamic between all of us, and there’s a history between Halle’s character and my character, and then there’s a little bit of tension, obviously, between my character and Mark’s character, Mike, because alpha male – wanting to be alpha male, trying to be alpha male. Everyone’s jockeying for position.
Encouraging People To Push Themselves
Tessa Smith: There’s a line in the film, “You’re the only one who can’t see your potential”, which I think a lot of people are going to be able to relate to. I certainly did. Can you relate to that at all?
Mark Wahlberg: Everything I do is aspirational, right? I’m trying to encourage people that if I went and applied myself, and was able to find myself in the position that I’m in now, there isn’t anything you can’t accomplish if you’re willing to do the work. And so that’s what I encourage people to do. Take a chance. Bet on yourself. Take a swing. Regret is far worse than failure. If you give it your best shot, you did everything you could, you’ll always feel good about the effort.
Halle Berry: I think everybody has someone that saw something in them that they didn’t see in themselves. I had a fifth grade teacher that really saw me clearly and set me on a path towards the life that I have now, and I can’t say without her seeing the goodness in me, or seeing my potential, or seeing what I could become, if I would have seen that for myself. So it was nice to act as that mirror for Mike, because he was very stuck in his neighborhood, in his small town thinking, and she required him to demand more of himself. And I think it’s a nice metaphor and people, I think, will be inspired by that. I hope they are anyway,
Be sure to watch the full interviews with Halle Berry, Mark Wahlberg, and Mike Coulter, to learn more about The Union, which comes to Netflix on August 16th.
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About The Union
Mike (Mark Wahlberg), a down-to-earth construction worker from Jersey, is quickly thrust into the world of super spies and secret agents when his high school sweetheart Roxanne (Halle Berry) recruits him on a high-stakes US intelligence mission.
The Union starts streaming exclusively on Netflix August 16th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.