4. Troy Barlow - Three Kings
Far more assured than Huckabees is O'Russell's previous collaboration with Wahlberg, the madcap war satire action pic, Three Kings. It's one of those films that I dismissed for years as a dumb action film and nothing more - given that Ice Cube co-starred - but it proves above all else not to judge a book by its cover, because sitting down and engaging with it reveals an unexpectedly smart, thrilling, superbly-directed war film. Set during the fallout of the Persian Gulf War, Ice Cube wasn't the only one turning heads with his performance; Wahlberg, who had to that point had only given one stand-out, possibly flukey turn, confirmed his stature as a strong up-and-comer. Here as Troy Barlow, one of the three soldiers during the war, Wahlberg gets to dirty himself up a bit, with his character being captured mid-way through the film and tortured. It gives Wahlberg an early visceral performance, and given the sympathetic nature of his character - who just wants to get home to his family - it also allows the actor to do some subtle emoting. Simply, this is the turn that allows him to prove he can move from one pole of emotion to another effortlessly, and the film is all the better for it.