Wahlberg's Agonising Perfect Storm

Mark Wahlberg was in agony for two weeks on the set of The Perfect Storm after an earplug was pushed underneath his eardrum during a high seas scene.

The movie hunk had to have surgery to remove the plug, and ignored doctors' orders to take two weeks off to recover.

He recalls, "My head swelled up like crazy and I went to the doctor, who was like, 'Woah, we've got to surgically remove this thing. You're gonna have to take a couple of weeks off.'

"I said, 'Look, I'm working for Wolfgang Petersen and you don't take time off, you don't show up late, you say yes sir no sir,' and I got him to pull it out.

"He said, 'You can't talk for two weeks,' and I'm writing this note to Wolfgang, I showed him the note and he said, 'Don't say anything but your lines. Now get on the boat.'"