Me Time is a brand new Netflix buddy-comedy from writer/director John Hamburg, which stars Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg as two longtime friends who’ve drifted apart over the year. After he finds himself with some “me time” Hart’s Sonny Fisher decides to join his old pal Huck Dembo’s (Wahlberg) epic birthday party week, which kicks off with the bare-bottomed actor going “full Wahlberg” for a skinny dipping scene. PopCulture.com caught up with Hamburg ahead of the film’s release, and he revealed that Hart is actually a big part of why viewers are re-introduced to Huck in his literal birthday suit.
“That’s full Wahlberg,” Hamburg joked when we asked if the actor used a body double. “He committed. Who can pull off a Mark Wahlberg body double? No, he was full commitment.” Hamburg then revealed, “I will say that scene was not in the first draft that Mark committed to. Kevin was the one who was like, ‘I feel like we need a bigger introduction for the Huck character.’ He didn’t say what. I came up with the idea that you might see him and he’s been skinny dipping and felt kind of like a unique way to introduce this character, that it would say a lot about him and about the dynamics between him and Kevin.”
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Hamburg continued, “As long as it was a closed set, and it was from behind, Mark was game.” Adding to the potential awkwardness, the director went on to explain, “That was also his first day of filming, I should say. We completely threw him into the deep end.” He then added that “Mark is a committed actor.”
One of the things that really makes Me Time work so well, is how much perfect on-screen chemistry Hart and Wahlberg have. Hamburg says that it’s not just in front of the camera that the two get along, which makes his work behind the camera much less complicated. “Sometimes directors will look you in the eye and go, ‘It was easy,’ but really the cast hated each other, but this is an easy answer because it’s true. They loved each other.”
He continued: “They had known each other but hadn’t worked together, and so I think they were all looking forward to it and they just clicked. From moment one, they really made each other laugh in different ways and appreciated each other. So it kind of makes my job much easier.”
In addition to Hart and Wahlberg, Me Time also stars Regina Hall, Jimmy O. Yang, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Andrew Santino, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, John Amos, Anna Maria Horsford, and pop/R&B music legend Seal. The film is a hilariously wild ride from its opening scene until the credits role, and it’s now available to stream on Netflix. Check out our complete interview with Hamburg in the video above, and keep it locked to PopCulture.com for more exciting movie exclusives, reviews, and interviews.
