Father Stu star Mark Wahlberg wants to be a part of more uplifting content.

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, he spoke about his journey filming and how the inspirational message behind the film, is opening up a new door in his career and transitioning out of the Hollywood spotlight. 

“I feel like this is starting a new chapter for me in that, now, doing things like this [with] real substance can help people. I definitely want to focus on making more. I wouldn’t say necessarily just faith-based content but things that will help people. Hopefully this movie will open a door for not only myself but for lots of other people in Hollywood to make more meaningful content.”

Maybe Wahlberg is looking to make films that are seen as inspirational (like Father Stu), opposed to his more violent action cinema like Infinite, and Mile 22, or escapist films like Uncharted. 

Father Stu follows Stuart Long (Wahlberg), while scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen (Teresa Ruiz), a Catholic Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. Determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her. But surviving a terrible motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others find their way, leading to the surprising realization that he is meant to be a Catholic priest. Despite a devastating health crisis and the skepticism of Church officials and his estranged parents (Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver), Stu pursues his vocation with courage and compassion, inspiring not only those closest to him but countless others along the way.

Rosalind Ross wrote and directed the film, with Wahlberg producing alongside Stephen Levinson and Jordon Foss. Its executive producers included Ross, Miky Lee, Colleen Camp, Patrick Peach and Tony Grazia.