With the release of Max Payne, starring none other than Mark Wahlberg (with a little help from Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Ludacris…), it would be easy and sort of obvious to just revel in some “Good Vibrations” or Wahlberg’s tight-whitey clad arse, both of which were extremely prevalent at the start of Marky Mark’s career. Instead, here’s his first film role from 1994 — Wahlberg playing Pvt. Tommy Lee Haywood in Renaissance Man.

In the clips above, Haywood gets into a fight with Pvt. Jamaal Montgomery — otherwise known as Kadeem Hardison, or Dwayne Wayne. Then they get to delight in the Shakespearean world of Hamlet under the tutelage of Danny DeVito, and then, oh yes, Mr. Wahlberg sings a little bit of “Achey Breaky Heart.”

It never ceases to amaze me how far that man has come. It didn’t take him long either — after this film came Basketball Diaries, then there was only Fear and Traveller before he became Dirk Diggler.