Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg Discuss Their First Collaboration

The Union hit Netflix today, bringing an action-packed storyline featuring a star-studded cast. The film stars Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg, longtime friends who finally share the screen after 30 years of friendship. In the film, Roxanne (Berry) enlists her high school boyfriend (Wahlberg) to help her secret organization complete a dangerous mission in Europe.

At the film’s premiere in Los Angeles, ComicBook got the chance to chat with the duo about their onscreen chemistry and what it’s like working together after all these years.

“Well, that chemistry would translate onto the screen because, look, we have a great script, we have a great backstory,” Wahlberg explained. “But the thing that wins the day is that people want to see us together. And that chemistry, you can’t create that. You either have it or you don’t. She’s fantastic. Everything she appears to be on screen, she is in real life. She’s wonderful, talented, super approachable, super accessible. She’s amazing.”

“I’ve known the guy for 30 years,” Berry added. “This is the thing I didn’t know I needed.”

Other cast members shared their thoughts on Berry and Wahlberg’s dynamic. Mike Colter commented on how their chemistry fits the storyline perfectly. “It’s funny because I think when it was cast, you have characters that you think, ‘Oh, they must’ve worked together,’ but they haven’t, and they’re [playing] old high school sweethearts. So that kind of fits,” he said. “I think that casting really works for that element.”

Jackie Earle Haley also praised them. “Man, they were both just super down to earth, super cool, super friendly, really talented,” he shared. “I’m a big fan of both of them. For me, I’m just like everybody else. If I go into a streaming thing and there’s all these buttons, if I see one that’s got Mark Wahlberg, ‘Wow, I’m going to watch that.’ … And same thing with Halle. I love them both. And it was just a great experience to get to be there to help support but also to watch. And I think that part was really written well, and they’ve got a great chemistry together, Mark and Halle. I think they were kind of perfectly cast. So knowing those two names and reading the script, it’s like, ‘Oh, this is going to be good.'”

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje added, “I was very pleasantly surprised how grounded and relatable they were. They were very tight, like best of friends. And also the chemistry in the scenes. It was great. They looked like they had worked together before, so they fooled me.”

Alice Lee shared her experience on set, noting how kind and professional Berry and Wahlberg were. “The first scene that I shot … I didn’t have any words, honestly. So I just think it was so funny meeting Mark and Halle being like, ‘Oh my God, it’s nice to meet you. I can’t wait to work with you.’ And then I don’t have any lines, but they were so generous and so sweet and they were really taking care of me because something happened where something hit my hand…They were just so chill. They were like, ‘Are you okay?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God. Yeah, I’m okay.'”

Jessica De Gouw also highlighted the chemistry between the duo. “I mean, you can see it. You can see it on screen,” she remarked. “There’s such a playfulness to them and they’re riffing with each other and it just makes it so easy, standing off the side and watching them or being in the scene with them, there are so many options that they offer because it’s all pretty organic. You could tell they’re having fun and I think that really comes across in the film.”

The Union is now streaming on Netflix.

Source: ComicBook