The Big Picture

“The Family Plan” is a fun action comedy that brings the whole family together for an enjoyable movie experience. Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan discuss their most challenging action sequences and upcoming projects in an interview with Collider. The movie features well-rounded characters and relatable themes, making it a great film for families to watch and have fun.

Looking for a fun action comedy for the whole family? You don’t want to miss out on Apple TV’s latest, The Family Plan, starring Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan. This heartfelt, character-driven adventure plays on the idea that before your parents were parents, they may have had a whole lifetime before the family gig.

According to Wahlberg, who plays Dan, a retired government assassin turned devoted father, The Family Plan is the perfect movie to sit down with the whole family and watch. Imagine if Mission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt settled down for a life in the suburbs, but was found out. When enemies from his previous life track Dan down, he calls in a favor to relocate and start over, but convinces his unsuspecting wife, Jessica (Monaghan), it’s simply a family road trip to Las Vegas. With two angsty teens and a baby in tow, Dan must protect his family at all costs from trained killers hot on his trail.

Speaking of Mission: Impossible, in this interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Wahlberg and Monaghan revisit some of their most challenging action sequences, which films they were most nervous about stepping on set for, and upcoming projects like The Six Billion Dollar Man, Ti West’s MaXXXine, and Apple TV’s series Bad Monkey. Monaghan also shares a great story about why she was making out with Tom Cruise on her honeymoon. Check out the video above or the transcript below for more on The Family Plan, their big musical number, what drew them to this project, and more!

The Family Plan A former top assassin living incognito as a suburban dad must take his unsuspecting family on the run when his past catches up to him. Release Date December 15, 2023 Director Simon Cellan Jones Rating PG-13 Runtime 118 minutes Writers David Coggeshall

COLLIDER: I’m a fan of both of your work, but there’s gonna be people out there who have never seen anything you’ve done before. To those people that have never seen anything you’ve done, what’s the first thing you’d like them watching and why?

WAHLBERG: For me, Family Plan. We can get to all the other films that we think are great for different reasons, but there’s nothing more needed right now than a movie that brings everybody together and that really is enjoyable for the whole family. Normally you have a movie that the parents will tolerate because the kids want to see it and will go sit through it, or vice versa, the kids are kind of getting pushed to go see something that the parents want to see. But this is something that I’ve just seen families and audiences really thoroughly enjoy together and all find relatable. And at a time, especially this holiday season, with all the craziness going on to really just be able to enjoy themselves and laugh and cut up and see things that they can identify with in their own personal lives, it’s well-needed. And then I’ll give a laundry list of movies to watch starting out with me and Michelle in Patriots Day.

MONAGHAN: [Laughs] Patriots Day, of course!

WAHLBERG: We can start there.

Forget the Stunts, This Was the Scariest Scene in ‘Mission: Impossible III’
Image via Paramount Pictures

That’s a whole nother thing. For both of you, what’s been the most nervous you’ve been the night before the first day of filming?

MONAGHAN: Mission: Impossible III, for sure. For sure. That was such a big film for me.

WAHLBERG: Who directed that one?

MONAGHAN: It was J.J. Abrams. It was just such a big film. I had just gotten married and kind of skipped my honeymoon to start the film right away. Then I remember going to work, and Tom and I had kind of an intimate scene, and of course that was the first scene. Then I came home from work, I was so nervous, and my husband was like, “Don’t worry, you’re gonna follow his lead. You’re gonna have a great time. It’s going to be wonderful.” I come home at the end of the day, open up the hotel room, and he said, “How was it?” I was like, “Oh my god, it was amazing. He was so nice. It was great.” He goes, “How cool is it that you were making out with Tom Cruise on our honeymoon?” Because we’re just such fans. [Laughs]

WAHLBERG: What the heck?

MONAGHAN: But it’s sweet, right?

WAHLBERG: This day has changed a lot for me.

MONAGHAN: He’s learning things. But that is a testament to the man that I married, who has just been totally supportive and is excited and jazzed for the opportunities.

WAHLBERG: Was he jealous?

MONAGHAN: No, he was just so proud.

WAHLBERG: That’s amazing.

MONAGHAN: I worked hard to get that role, and it was just one of those things. We just got married and really discovered our careers in New York together, and so that was really special. But I was very nervous, of course, the night before, and then proceeded to have just an amazing shoot with J.J. and Tom, and I have all the respect for them and that franchise. I can’t believe I shared that story, but it’s the truth. [Laughs] And you? What was the most nervous you’ve ever been? I’m really curious because that’s such a good question.

WAHLBERG: Now. Right now. No, I think every first day. Obviously, some movies more than others, but working with a new filmmaker, new people, that excitement I always have. I’ll have the dream where I forgot the lines, I don’t have my script, nobody’s there with my pages, that sort of thing, but as soon as you get that first shot done, it’s always like, “Okay, let’s go.” As soon as you get the first shot in the can. But yeah, it’s exciting. When that feeling like, “Wow, we did something really cool today,” wears off, I don’t know. You might want to find something else.

MONAGHAN: Agreed. I love those nerves.

Stop, Collaborate, & Listen to Mark Wahlberg Sing in ‘The Family Plan’

Of all the things that I expected to see in The Family Plan, the one thing I did not expect to see was Mark singing Vanilla Ice. That came completely out of left field because you’ve made a lot of movies and I don’t remember the last time you sang in a movie.

WAHLBERG: Unfortunately, I’ve had to do it a couple of times. I don’t like it, but…

Was it tough to sell you on singing Vanilla Ice, the two of you, or was it like, “Let’s just go for it?”

WAHLBERG: At that point, it was like, “Let’s just go for it.” Yeah, absolutely. Simon had sent, I think, a dozen songs, whatever the number was. Some of them were random, like, Irish folk songs, and he wanted to have a bunch of different options. I think the only one that we both knew was “Ice Ice Baby,” so it was the obvious choice. And it was fun.

One of the things about this film, and you sort of touched on it a little bit, is that it has something for everyone in terms of the kids actually have storylines, you guys have storylines, and so I do think for families who want to watch something together, everyone’s gonna get something out of it. Can you talk about that and if that’s what pulled you in to do this?

WAHLBERG: All the roles are very well written, well-rounded characters. People, whether they have kids or not, it’s just very enjoyable from start to finish. It’s filled with laughs, action, and lots of unexpected things, as you just referred to one of them, so that was exciting for me. I got that gut feeling when I read the script, and then, of course, seeing the movie for the first time. I was watching it in my home, in the living room. I turned it on and I knew it’s a PG-13 movie, so I didn’t have to worry about anybody in the house seeing something that was inappropriate. By the time I started watching it, I started by myself, the whole family was sitting around the living room watching, including my father-in-law, and nobody reacted to anything other than laughing until this one spits the toothbrush out of her mouth. Then I got the look from everybody. I hadn’t warned them about that particular scene.

MONAGHAN: I think it’s just a great film that everybody can relate to. You see all of the teenagers and the moms and dads trying to navigate life. It’s that evolution of family and trying to stay connected. They’re all going about their own ways, and I think that they’re all just looking to kind of latch on to each other. So you just see this family over the course of the film start to reconnect and believe in one another and communicate and listen. It’s just really hopeful, and I think families are going to really relate to it, all the themes, and really have a lot of fun watching it.

You’ve both done action in your career and you both did action in this movie. When you think about everything you’ve done, what’s the sequence or scene that you really can’t believe you did or you’re exceptionally proud of?

MONAGHAN: I learned how to drive an 18-wheeler. I got my Class A driver’s license for a film called Trucker, and I drove an 18-wheeler up and down the 10 in the Grapevine. I still can’t believe I did that for a film. I can’t even drive a stick shift, but I can drive a 12-speed with a splitter with a double clutch.

I’m very impressed, honestly.

WAHLBERG: Yeah, I thought I had something impressive to say, but I’m just keeping my little humble accomplishments to myself.

You’ve done some cool shit, Mark. What’s a sequence that you’re especially proud of?

WAHLBERG: I don’t know. Obviously 50-something films in, I’ve done quite a bit of different things, but I think any time bringing true stories to the big screen or playing a professional athlete, or bringing the brave men and women of Operation Red Wings to the screen, those are the things that I’m always the proudest of.

There’s Still Hope for ‘The Six Billion Dollar Man’ at Skydance

Mark, individual question for you. I’ve asked you this, I think, for 17 years, but will I ever see you in The Six Billion Dollar Man?

WAHLBERG: You know what, I think there is finally hope for that to happen. And I think it’s kind of actually a lot to do with this movie, because hopefully Skydance will have the rights, if not fully buttoned up now, very soon, and we’ll fast-track that movie to get made. So, I’m still not out of the fight, I’m still grinding every day to get it made. It’s tough. To get certain things made it’s very difficult. It was an uphill battle, but I think certain ones are worth just seeing through to the end.

To me that’s a no-brainer movie. Has it been a rights issue?

WAHLBERG: Well, it is now. We had the rights and we were trying to get the script rights at Warners, and then people have the TV rights, you have the estate, and then I think Universal had the international, and lots of things, to bring it out free and clear, to be able to work out all those different issues and then be able to start fresh with a new writer at Skydance. But I’m excited because nobody does action better than David and Dane, and those guys at Skydance, so I couldn’t be more excited about the possibility.

David Ellison, I’ve spoken to him a number of times, he really loves movies. 100%. Michelle, an individual question for you. What can you tease about your role in MaXXXine because that’s one I’m very excited for. Also, there’s another Apple series you’re in, Bad Monkey, which I’m also curious about.

MONAGHAN: Gosh, I don’t know how much I can say about MaXXXine.

WAHLBERG: Eh, just put it out there.

MONAGHAN: [Laughs] You caught me at the end of the day, I have to be careful. Listen, I can tell you we’ve got an extraordinary cast. We see Maxine now in a different decade. It’s the third installment of the franchise, and so we see Mia Goth — she’s incredible — co-lead is Kevin Bacon, and I’m co-starring with Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Debicki, Lily Collins, and Moses Sumney. We’ve got an amazing cast. We shot it in LA so that gives you a sense of where it is, where it’s set. It’s really an exciting film. I’m so proud. I’ve been a fan of [Ti West’s] work as a filmmaker for a long time, and obviously I love A24, so I’m really excited to have a project with them.

Bad Monkey I’m really excited to share this with everybody. It’s Bill Lawrence so we kind of know his brand of comedy. Vince Vaughn is back on screen doing what he does best, and I am a firecracker of a character. I’ve not played a character like this whatsoever in my life, so I’m really excited about her. And we’ve got an amazing cast – Jodie Turner-Smith, Rob Delaney. It’s just a wonderful, wonderful ensemble, and I think that’ll probably be coming out in late spring, maybe early summer. It’s set in Miami and it’s based on a Carl Hiaasen book, of course, who’s an amazing writer.

The Family Plan is available to stream on Apple TV+ starting December 15th.

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