Post Malone may not have physically been at the premiere to celebrate his acting debut in “Spenser Confidential” on Thursday night in Los Angeles, but the Grammy-nominated rapper was definitely there in spirit. As star Mark Wahlberg walked the black carpet outside the Regency Village Theatre, a video of Malone appeared on mini-screens at the venue.
“Sorry I couldn’t be at the premiere tonight,“ Malone said in the video. “I love you so much, but I Postmated something very special to make up for it.”
A black truck soon arrived, delivering hundreds of burgers from Wahlberg’s restaurant Wahlburgers for guests at the event.
“I didn’t know. That was a nice surprise,” Wahlberg told Variety as the burgers were being handed out. “Posty and I have been friends for a long time and I know Posty is always going to Wahlburgers when he’s not in the studio.”
Wahlberg went on to praise the 24-year-old artist on his first-ever acting gig, admitting that he played a big role in Malone landing the part.
“He killed it,” said Wahlberg of Malone’s performance. “I wanted to cast him in the movie, [director Peter Berg] wasn’t really sure just because he never really saw him act and we didn’t have time to audition him. But, not only did I convince Pete to hire him, I also convinced him to give [Malone] two parts and combine them.”
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In the film, Malone plays Squeebe, a fellow inmate and enemy of Wahlberg’s character Spenser, and Wahlberg admitted the new actor had a little bit of a rough start filming his first scene.
“When we finally got to the set — we were actually at Posty’s trailer — Posty would not rehearse the scene and he wouldn’t do his real voice. He was making some crazy voice, so Pete was even more scared,” Wahlberg recalled. “You could tell Posty was a little nervous…but then we went in and on the first take he absolutely killed it.”
The Netflix movie follows ex-police officer Spenser and his unlikely friendship with an MMA fighter named Hawk (Winston Duke) as they investigate the murder of Spenser’s two former colleagues. The film was based on the book series by Robert B. Parker that was later adapted into the ’80s television series “Spenser: For Hire,” and at its heart, the “Spenser Confidential” team says the story is an action-comedy that is ultimately about family.
“The overall message is that family is family, no matter how you make it,” Duke explained. “A lot of us are born with family, some of us inherit family, some of us create family and this movie is a family story.”
“It’s a movie about brotherhood between these characters, Spencer and Hawk, the likely bond that they form over the course of the movie,” co-writer Sean O’Keefe agreed.
After grubbing on “Wahlburgers,” the stars –– including Iliza Shlesinger, Alan Arkin and Hope Olaide Wilson –– made their way into the screening, followed by an after-party at Baltaire, where they celebrated the film. “Spenser Confidential” premieres March 6 on Netflix.
CREDIT: Rob Latour/Shutterstock
