(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Mark Wahlberg is OK with not making any money from starring in The Fighter, saying it was something that had to be done.

The film tells the true story of boxer Irish Micky Ward, who goes on to win a world junior welterweight title after being trained by his half brother Dicky Eklund. Mark plays the character of Micky and spent years making sure the movie reached cinemas worldwide. Despite actors and directors dropping out of the project, Mark remained committed to the movie and was thrilled when Christian Bale agreed to play drug addict Dicky and David O. Russell took on directing duties.

Mark underwent intensive training for the part, even building a boxing ring in his home so he could replicate how Micky looked when he was fighting. Once he had finished making the movie he relaxed his strict diet and exercise regime, so was frustrated when he realised he needed to re-shoot some key scenes.

"I was filming The Other Guys, having a great time because, after four years of training and watching my weight, I got to stuff my face every day and drink a lot of wine. By the end of it, I put on over 30lbs., he explained in an interview with British newspaper The Independent. Then David asked if I could do a couple of extra shots of the last fight, when Micky is in his best shape. I really didn't want to do it but he persisted so I spoke to the trainer and the nutritionist who figured we could do it in five weeks. I said, 'Look, I'm not paying for it!', because I'd paid for everything out of my own pocket all the years of training and paying the nutritionist and the trainer And I got paid no money to make the movie.

Mark has no regrets about the lengths he went to make The Fighter. Even though the 39-year-old star hasnt enjoyed any immediate financial gain from the movie, he is confident his performance will pay off in the future and will lead to him landing other challenging roles.

"They knew how desperate I was to make the movie so they made a deal where even if The Fighter made Avatar money, I'll still make no money. And I was OK with that, but I wasn't going to continue to pay after the fact, he added. "This movie will allow me to make hundreds of millions of dollars from other things. A lot of the movies that I got paid ridiculous and obscene amounts of money for are things I'd hope would never see the light of day and I'm embarrassed to have made. But The Fighter was just something that had to be done." (C) Cover Media