Mark Wahlberg is back in Philly and was spotted doing the ‘Rocky’ pose on the Art Museum steps
The film involves a father and son traveling around the country to see NBA teams, so the son can decide which team is his favorite.
Actor Mark Wahlberg and his costar were seen doing one of the most iconic Philly things — raising their arms like Rocky Balboa at the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum stairs — on Sunday.
Indeed, a statue of the fictional Italian Stallion, played by Sylvester Stallone in the iconic 1976 film, was in sight as Wahlberg and child actor Indie DesRoches sparred lightly, according to video footage shared on Instagram by blogger HughE Dillon.
With a camera crew nearby, the star of The Departed and Lone Survivor is presumably shooting footage for the Apple Studios movie Cheesesteak.
It’s not Wahlberg’s first visit to Philly — he shot the films Shooter and Invincible here. In the latter, he played Philadelphia Eagle Vince Papale.
“I’ll tell you, man, I love Philadelphia,” Wahlberg told The Inquirer in 2007. “I’ve got a lot of love and loyalty for the place.”
According to casting calls for Cheesesteak, Wahlberg plays a father who takes his son on a cross-country journey to visit NBA arenas.
The movie is directed by Stephen Chbosky, who wrote the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower and later adapted it for the screen.
The script is patterned on a 2023 German sports comedy-drama, Weekend Rebels — inspired by a true story about a father and his autistic son. In the German original, the main characters travel across Europe, visiting every Premier League soccer club so the son can decide which team to root for.
The American remake trades soccer for basketball, but keeps the film’s central theme.