Joaquin Phoenix, left and Mark Wahlberg star as  two estranged brothers — one a cop, the other a nightclub manager — who get tangled up with the Russian mob in 1980s New York.

BY BOB STRAUSS>FILM WRITER

Though they both come from show-business families, started performing at early ages and had movie successes as young adults, there were no guarantees that Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg would by their 30s,become two of Hollywood’s most accomplished leading men.
But instead of falling into obscurity, the former Marky Mark, 36, can claim a string of both critical (“Boogie Nights, “Three Kings,” “I Heart Huckabees and popular hits (“The Perfect Storm,” “The Italian Job,” “Four Brothers,” “Invincible”) culminating in his Academy Award-nominated role in “The Departed” last year.
Two-time nominee Phoenix, who turns 33 this month, has worked with a who’s who of top directors from Gus Van Sant (“To Die For”), Oliver Stone (“U Turn”) and Ridley Scott (“Gladiator”) to M. Night Shyamalan (“Signs,” “The Village”) and James Mangold (“Walk the Line”).
Now Phoenix and Wahlberg have paired up for the second time in “We Own the Night,“ a crime thriller written and directed by James Gray, for whom they earlier made “The Yards.” They play two estranged brothers — one a cop, the other a nightclub manager — who get tangled up with the Russian mob in 1980s New York.
Utterly different personalities — passionate Phoenix ricochets from confident cut-up to sensitive self-doubter, sometimes within the same sentence; reformed criminal Wahlberg is a calm, cool, church and family guy — they complement each other beautifully on screen. The way things are going for these two, they should have many opportunities to do so again.

What makes you keep working together?

PHOENIX: He's gorgeous to look at. (Laughs.) No, he is really hard-working - which means a lot to me. I think it's something that I really value in other people.
WAHLBERG: Joaq feels like my brother. We're comfortable and familiar with one another, and that level of trust and respect is there. And we also know how to push each other's buttons, which brothers do constantly.

What's it like to produce a movie together?

PHOENIX: Well, my role as producer is really as an actor that didn't get paid as much as he was supposed to, therefore they offered him a production credit, and he agreed to it because he's greedy. It's very, very tough out there. No, it's not that I wasn't paid well, just I wasn't paid the crazy, exorbitant amount that I've been paid before.
WAHLBERG: Well let's put it this way. Joaq called me and said there was a scene in the movie that he didn't like, and we're producing it, we should do something about it. It's a scene that he's in, and I'm like, well, what about it? He goes, I don't know, I didn't see the movie. I'm like, what are you talking about, you gotta see the movie!
He's like, no, you're the producer, you gotta tell James to cut it out. I'm like, well you're the producer, you gotta watch the movie and tell me what you're talking about. (Laughs.) He doesn't like watching himself, though.

Is that true?

PHOENIX: I haven't seen the last six or seven movies I've done. It's of no use to me. Perhaps there are some actors who can see things that they do wrong and make adjustments later on in other films. But I feel like, if you're unhappy about it there's nothing you can do about it, and then you just have to go and do a lot of press for a performance you think is awful. I'd rather just go, `I haven't seen it!' Which is awesome.

How did you make "Reservation Road" more than the usual dead-kid's-father-seeks-vengeance kind of thing?

PHOENIX: It's really character first. It's not just a grieving-father movie by any means. There's a thriller element, it's about obsession, and that thing about men that makes it so difficult for them to process emotion, and then how that emotion is manifested into violence.

Mark, you're finishing up the thriller, "The Happening," and preparing to play boxer Micky Ward in "The Fighter." How are you holding up?

WAHLBERG: It's tough some days. I'm working five days a week on "The Happening" and training five days a week, so I'm up at 4:30 every morning. And Oct. 13, it'll be a year straight that I've been training.

Sounds tough. But I almost think that it's harder for Joaquin to go there mentally than doing anything physically.

PHOENIX: Honestly, it really just probably comes down to being bored or not. I've been on films where they were just kind of "regular guys," and it was really tedious and boring to me. I don't really enjoy acting enough to not want to experience something that feels like it really affects things. It's like, if you were a surfer, would you want to surf where there were 2-foot waves, or would you want to surf on 10-foot waves?

Considering where you came from, are either of you surprised that you've become such respected film artists?

WAHLBERG: Yeah, not too many people had done it before me. But once I realized what acting was, I felt like, well, part of me has been doing this for quite a long time anyway, getting in and out of trouble and b.s.-ing my way through life. So I really felt like I found my niche, and it became something that I completely fixated on.
PHOENIX: Well, I do have a long way to go as an actor. And I think that even if one didn't, one should ... assume that they have a long way to go. Because the moment that you stop searching is when it's over. But there are a lot of mistakes that I make and I face the same problems every time that I work. So I'll either get better or quit, I'm not sure. Whichever one pays more.
WAHLBERG: It wasn't until I started doing the right thing that good things started happening to me. I have a very strong belief system and a faith in God. And I couldn't be happier.

Catholic, I presume?

WAHLBERG: Yes.

How does your religion reconcile with profane stuff you make, like the foulmouthed cop you played in "The Departed"?

WAHLBERG: Y'know, I always hope that God has a sense of humor. I'm really more aware now of the choices I make, certainly. It would be extremely difficult to sign on to do a movie like `Boogie Nights' now, knowing that I have little kids, and a little girl who asks a ton of questions at 4. But it really is entertainment. I hope that I can continue to grow as a person and humble myself and glorify him in everything that I do.

Joaquin, you've had two Oscar nominations, supporting for "Gladiator" and lead for your "Walk the Line" Johnny Cash.

PHOENIX: I don't think there was much difference. It was still like, go there, do that thing, hey. It felt that way. The first time, Russell (Crowe) just did everything, you know. I didn't really have to - and I was working as well, so I was out of the country when "Gladiator" came out until the Oscars. But for "Walk the Line" I was here; there were a few more things to do.

WAHLBERG: I saw him at the Golden Globes, and he looked like he would rather be anywhere else in the world. I said, "Joaq, enjoy it. It could be worse."

And how was being the only nominee out of that dynamite cast of "The Departed" for you this year?

WAHLBERG: A very nice surprise. Certainly wasn't expecting it. You're in a movie with all those guys and I'd never been nominated before. I didn't let it change the way I make decisions or go about what I do. But it was definitely nice to be there.

Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670
bob.strauss@dailynews.com

Mendes, Phoenix in some night moves

Review of "We Own the Night"