Mark Wahlberg became sick to his stomach while filming some of the car chase stunts in the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. The F. Gary Gray film, which also starred Charlize Theron as a professional safecracker, failed to win over box offices, but is still regarded by many as a strong reworking of the 1969 original. Initially kicking off his career as a rapper known as Marky Mark, Wahlberg eventually made the successful leap to the film industry. Though his earliest film roles weren’t in action movies, he soon moved in that direction. By the late 1990s, Wahlberg had become something of an action film staple.

His lead role in the The Italian Job was an attempt to further cash in on the sort of acclaim that had met the 2001 remake of Ocean’s Eleven, but unfortunately, it came nowhere close the same degree of success. Even with its extensive cast, the film just wasn’t what audiences were looking for. For Wahlberg, it was just another action film. But for co-star Theron, it was an opportunity to further build her experience in the action genre. The cast trained at doing some of their own driving, and it was here where Theron learned she could hack the substantial demands of some of The Italian Job’s stunt work. Wahlberg on the other hand, apparently did not fare so well.

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During an interview with IGN's Terri Schwartz via Comic-Con’s official YouTube channel, Theron spoke about her time filming The Italian Job. The Oscar-winning actress revealed the only good thing that came out of making the movie was that the actors performed many of the film’s car stunts, allowing her to experience that sort of work. But while she enjoyed the challenge, at least one of her co-stars did not. According to Theron, at one point during shooting, Wahlberg became so nauseous from doing 360s he had to pull the car he was driving over and vomit:

 I vividly remember Mark Wahlberg, halfway through one of our training sessions pulling over and throwing up because he was so nauseous from doing 360s.

Charlie and Stella leaning against a car in The Italian Job

Given Wahlberg’s reputation for machismo, Theron’s recounting of this incident probably won’t go over too well. After all, this is the same man who once threatened to punch former SNL star Andy Samberg for impersonating him on the popular sketch show. Throwing up on the set of The Italian Job is understandably not one of his career highlights, and it definitely doesn’t vibe with the image he’s spent many years cultivating for himself. At the same time, however, it’s understandable why Theron pointed it out in the first place.

After Theron revealed she was given six weeks more training with the car stunts than her male co-stars, seeing Wahlberg vomit from the intensity of the work had to be gratifying. There really wasn’t any logical reason for giving her more time to learn the stunts, especially since it ended up being Wahlberg who apparently had problems and not Theron. Today Theron is widely acknowledged as one of the film industry’s most exciting action movie stars – an achievement that had its beginnings in literally driving circles around Mark Wahlberg.

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Source: Comic-Con International/YouTube