The Gonz Show: Donnie Wahlberg
A new drama on Spike TV puts Mark’s big brother back in the spotlight—and John Gonzalez probably won’t be joining his entourage.
Your character on The Kill Point is a police hostage negotiator named Horst Cali. Horst? Did you just select letters at random? That can’t be a real name. I didn’t come up with it. I really can’t explain most of the names, to be honest with you. But he’s Captain Cali, which is kinda cool. Horst, who knows what it means?
Are you nervous about returning to TV? I like the project, I like the character, and I have a lot of faith in it. If the show is a hit, great. If not, so be it. I don’t have too many regrets, except for maybe the last series I did.
It was called Runaway, right? It was just a bad fit. That network—I’m not a CW guy. They have their idea of a leading man, and I’m not it. The only people on that network are extremely pretty or dumb. More times than not they were concerned with the color of my shirt. Guys from Dorchester shouldn’t be on that network.
Yeah, they belong on WrestleMania instead. Weren’t you in WrestleMania X? I just showed up. It was no big deal. It wasn’t like I wrestled Hulk Hogan.
No one hit you with a chair? That’s a shame. I’ve hit my brother with a chair. Me and Mark used to do that stuff all the time and beat the shit out of each other.
I read somewhere that you’re a distant relative of Halle Berry. True? I never heard that.
IMDb has it on your profile. If that’s true, there won’t be any relations with her sexually.
If it’s true that HBO’s Entourage is based on Mark’s life, do people assume you’re Johnny Drama? I’ve been asked that a few times, but I don’t freeload off Mark. If you do your homework you know I was never part of Mark’s entourage, and I never will be. He was part of my entourage.
Oh. Does that mean you won’t scream “Victory!” for me? [Silence.]
Are you nervous about returning to TV? I like the project, I like the character, and I have a lot of faith in it. If the show is a hit, great. If not, so be it. I don’t have too many regrets, except for maybe the last series I did.
It was called Runaway, right? It was just a bad fit. That network—I’m not a CW guy. They have their idea of a leading man, and I’m not it. The only people on that network are extremely pretty or dumb. More times than not they were concerned with the color of my shirt. Guys from Dorchester shouldn’t be on that network.
Yeah, they belong on WrestleMania instead. Weren’t you in WrestleMania X? I just showed up. It was no big deal. It wasn’t like I wrestled Hulk Hogan.
No one hit you with a chair? That’s a shame. I’ve hit my brother with a chair. Me and Mark used to do that stuff all the time and beat the shit out of each other.
I read somewhere that you’re a distant relative of Halle Berry. True? I never heard that.
IMDb has it on your profile. If that’s true, there won’t be any relations with her sexually.
If it’s true that HBO’s Entourage is based on Mark’s life, do people assume you’re Johnny Drama? I’ve been asked that a few times, but I don’t freeload off Mark. If you do your homework you know I was never part of Mark’s entourage, and I never will be. He was part of my entourage.
Oh. Does that mean you won’t scream “Victory!” for me? [Silence.]
Originally published in Boston magazine, July 2007
