Mark Wahlberg and Keegan-Michael Key are trying to steal the biggest score in the new Shane Black heist film, Play Dirty.

The two told Blavity/Shadow and Act Managing Editor Trey Mangum how they tried to make the Prime Video film a different entry in the heist-action drama.

Wahlberg, who plays lead character Parker, said that he tried to make the character trope of the skilled thief looking for a final score more unique.

How this version of the character is different from prior portrayals

“You’d like to kind of carve out your own niche and make it your own,” he said. “[T]he great thing was, was Shane really did that very well with comedy. If you look at like Lee Marvin in Point Blank, or even Robert Duvall in The Outfit, there’s not a lot of comedy in there. And you know…I’ve done heist movies before. I’ve played some kind of seedy kind of anti-heroes that live and exist in the gray area, but this with the comedy infused, I think really kind of separates it from the others.”

Why Keegan-Michael Key calls the film a ‘rollercoaster ride’

Key also supported Wahlberg’s description of Black’s deft hand at combining action and comedy. He added how his character was “exhilarating” for him.

“I loved the fact that Shane crafted this rollercoaster ride for everybody,” he said. “You never forget the stakes of a heist movie, which is really fun, and oftentimes, I’ve been in movies that are a little more open where there’s a little more interpretation. I like it being a little tighter and being like a Rube Goldberg machine where you have to follow this, to go to this, to go to this. But even within those parameters, I still had a lot of freedom and a lot of time to just have a ball.”

Watch the full interview with Wahlberg and Key below.

What’s the plot of ‘Play Dirty’?

In Play Dirty, Wahlberg and his skilled team of burglars have their biggest score in their midst, but it comes with a price–the mob. According to the official description:

An expert thief rolls out the biggest heist of his life in Play Dirty, an action-packed thriller from director Shane Black. Parker (Mark Wahlberg), along with Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield), Zen (Rosa Salazar) and a skilled crew, stumble onto a score that pits them against the New York mob in this gritty, clever caper.

Also starring LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Chukwudi Iwuji, Nat Wolff with Thomas Jane and Tony Shalhoub, Play Dirty is now streaming on Prime Video.

Play Dirty

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