Mark Wahlberg has finally earned the right to no longer be referred to as "Marky Mark."

Well past his days of rapping and Calvin Klein underwear modeling, he's a bona fide movie star with an Academy Award nomination and a legitimate producer with a mega-hit show - based on his own life no less ("Entourage").

He's come a long way. The last of nine children, Wahlberg spent his childhood going in and out of Boston police stations. He said those experiences actually helped him prepare for his Oscar-nominated role in "The Departed."

"I basically lived my whole childhood developing that character," Wahlberg said. "I grew up on the streets and getting into a lot of trouble. I just had a pretty tough upbringing, So, you know, I was glad that ... after causing my parents all that grief that I was able to put it to good use."

Wahlberg's experiences off-screen helped establish his bad-boy persona on-screen. He's created a niche for himself in the action-movie genre and continues in this tradition with the opening of his new film "Shooter" - not that he'll accept just any old action movie to star in.

"Well, the high-intensity action movies that they've been making lately aren't really the kind of character-driven movies that I love and that I grew up watching in the '70s. This is kind of a throwback to that. It's much more of a Travis Bickle or a Dirty Harry than it is a Terminator-type character," Wahlberg said.

Despite leaning toward action films, Wahlberg likes to mix it up when it comes to selecting a new film role. "I want to make movies that I would want to go and see and that I think people want to see me in," Wahlberg said. He even revealed that David O. Russell, the director and writer of "Three Kings," is developing a broad comedy specifically tailored to him.

The Academy Award nomination hasn't gone to his head, either. Wahlberg claims to have no eye on specifically winning more dramatic laurels.

"Well I certainly can't just start looking for English-period dramas and stuff that's going to get me nominated again," he said. "I got to just continue to make the kind of movies that I want to see and that people want to see me in."

Wahlberg is also toying with the idea of complete retirement from acting at the tender age of 40. "I have two small children and I've been focused on me for a long time and at some point, obviously, my attention is going to have to shift to them. But hopefully I'll be in a position where I can still make a movie every year or two."

Let's hope Wahlberg isn't going anywhere. The world needs its tough guys - not to mention inspirations to underwear models.