A Conversation with Mark Wahlberg Changed My Life: UK Penman Filming First Role in Hollywood Movie After Actor’s Pep Talk

A father who turned his life around and kicked his addiction to alcohol and drugs after a chance conversation with Mark Wahlberg about his dreams of becoming an actor, has now filmed his first film in Hollywood.

Working as a bin man between acting jobs, Jimmy Humphrey, 34, is hoping to make it big in Hollywood a day after filming his first film in Los Angeles earlier this month.

Father-of-five Jimmy had previously struggled with his mental health and turned to drink and drugs while suffering from depression, but while working a shift as a security guard on a film set, Jimmy had a chance meeting with Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg who encouraged him to take it up. Follow his dreams – the conversation that “flicked the light switch” in Jimmy’s brain.

Now Jimmy regularly auditions for film roles and played an extra alongside Samuel L. Jackson in the Marvel Studios TV series Secret Invasion before landing a lead role in his first independent Hollywood film, Ready to Kill.

At the beginning of November, Jamie filmed his parts in the independent film directed by Shannon Farrow, who runs ING Films.

Jamie, who lives in Sittingbourne, Kent, with his wife Lisa, 29, a stay-at-home mum, and their five children, told PA Real Life: “I’ve come a long way since I spoke to Mark Wahlberg.

“Before that, I was at rock bottom in terms of my mental health – I admit I had turned to drugs and alcohol and didn’t know how I was going to get out of the rut I was in.

“My dad has always been my biggest supporter and even paid for my train ticket for my first ever extra role.

“Losing him in 2020 was devastating, as we were so close, but I was determined to keep going for him.

“Now I want to make my family proud, and shooting my first movie in Hollywood was a huge accomplishment.”

Jamie filmed parts of his first Hollywood film, Ready to Kill, earlier this month, flying to Los Angeles on November 8 after meeting the director online.

He said: “I met the director via Facebook, and he had been following me for a while and wrote a film called Ready to Kill.

“He asked me to be a part of it and I said I wanted to come out and film it, and the next thing you know I’m there in Los Angeles playing the lead role.”

The independent film was shot by a man with a camera and Jimmy shot his parts in five days.

“I play a man whose girlfriend is kidnapped and wants revenge on the people who kidnapped her,” he said.

“It was fun because I had a lot of control over my character and changed certain parts of it to suit the way I acted.

“The film did not have a big budget but I am already living the dream because I am doing what I love.

“I get to stay in amazing places, really nice hotels, and work with really interesting people.”

Since Jimmy started acting, he has landed roles in Bollywood films as well as music videos and recently played an extra in the TV miniseries Secret Invasion, starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Jamie said: “I spoke to Samuel L. Jackson on set and it was great. I played a Russian extra in one of the scenes and it was really exciting to be part of such a big production.

While Jimmy sometimes gets paid for the roles he takes, other times it only covers his travel and accommodation costs, but he said these roles are “stepping stones” as he hone his craft.

“I’m doing acting because I love it, I’m just acting for the love of it. I’m not going back to addiction or anything like that,” he said.

“I just have to keep building.”

Previously struggling with alcohol and drug addiction as a coping mechanism for his depression, Jamie turned his life around after a chance meeting with Mark Wahlberg in 2019.

“I was working on a movie set, guarding Mark Wahlberg’s trailer,” Jimmy said. “I wasn’t expecting to actually meet him, but one day he stopped to talk to me.

“It was just a two-minute conversation but it ended up changing my life.

“He stopped and asked me about myself and my dreams – I told him that I wanted to be like him and earn money like him, and that my dream since childhood was to become an actor.

“He said, ‘Well, what are you doing standing here?’”

“It was like a light switch was flipped on. Suddenly a spark ignited. I started looking for acting roles as extras or small parts that I could audition for.”

While Jamie is still affected by the loss of his father, Kevin, 59, who died of Covid complications in December 2020, he said he is now focused on his new career and honoring his memory by staying clean.

“I work 24/7, so I wake up in the morning, go to work, come home, spend time with the kids, then go to sleep. I can’t stop now, there’s no turning back.”

“Everyone thinks that, because I made an independent film, you can’t call it a Hollywood film, but Hollywood films are not just the big films.

“I’m really excited to do independent films because I’m able to get bigger roles and have more fun with acting.”

Jimmy also recently starred in a music video for “Dugout” by Humane The Moon, which was released on November 15.

Jamie added: “I’ve got a lot of new things coming and they’re all really positive.

“I’ve come a long way since that conversation with Mark Wahlberg and I’m determined to get where I want to be.

“I would love to live in Hollywood one day and make my kids proud. I will keep working until I get there.”