Donnie's Den

OnlineHost: Copyright 1999 America Online, Inc. All Online Host: Rights Reserved.

Question: did u enjoy working on the sixth sense? i really liked that movie and u can really act!!! - Ofsprng12f

DonEWalbrg: Yeah, I did. Truthfully, I didn't enjoy preparing to work for the movie because I physically had to go through a lot to prepare. And the character I played has been suffering his whole life so I had to suffer to really give it a true portrayal. Working with Bruce Willis and the writer was incredible, but physically it was so hard that it made it a little unenjoyable. I was a mess and was really in pain doing it. I feel like I was mis-cast for the part because I was physically wrong for it. But the writer is such a genius and he offered me the role and I said, great. And in order to prepare I knew I had to lose some weight, but getting into the process I started to really suffer and started connecting with the character and I couldn't stop the cycle and spiralled downwards emotionally and physically and became this person. It took all the suffering to do what I did on screen.

Question: Why did you pick the sixth sence to do? - fangl33

DonEWalbrg: I read the script by some flook, I just happened to pick it out of a pile of scripts and I cried reading it and was totally stunned at the end. I really didn't think I could be in the film. I didn't read any character I thought I could play. The role I played was written as an 18 year old emaciated boy, but I felt that I just had to meet the guy that wrote it and so I got on a plane from Toronto to NY. And I really hate to fly so anything to motivate me to get on a plane and meet this guy and to say this was the best script I had ever read and he said I should think about playing this role. And I thought it would be an honor just to work on this film and it turned out I got to play this role.

Question: Aloha Donnie, who or what has influenced you the most to take the acting route? thanx - ANGELAS808

DonEWalbrg: Well, I guess not anyone in particular, but acting sort of pursued me first. Let me back that up, I started acting in High School and during my sophomore year I started in NKOB and that took off. I've always enjoyed acting and during that time I was offered scripts and acting sort of pursued me, but I was doing music. But after that I gave it a shot and started falling in love with it more and more. Now, after doing something like the 6th Sense, it was a total departure from myself and was the first time I became another human being and that was what inspires me to do it the most. I couldn't really watch it the first time. It was very uncomfortable to look at it. I really flashed back to being in the bathroom and for me it's more intense than the viewer to watch it because I was in real bad shape. I didn't act in that movie, I just showed up and they said go. It was very hard to watch it.

Question: When are you going to release another album??? - BandChik76

DonEWalbrg: I don't think I'm going to release another album anytime in the next millennium.

EAMusic1: do you have plans for the millenium?

DonEWalbrg: I'm not going to hide and I'm not going to fly out of town. I'm going to stay close to home and take it easy. I had a big new year's last year and this year I'm going to be Y2K cautious, not Y2K ignorant or paranoid, but keep it in the back of my mind.

Question: Do you have any advise for the boy bands of today? - girlsmon

DonEWalbrg: I don't think they need any advice from me. They're doing pretty good. You know, specific advice, I don't know, they're doing really well and I don't know what advice I could offer them. I don't feel like I should even be asked to comment on them. I don't think it really has anything to do with me. Sure, NKOB was a predecessor to these groups, but they'll figure it out for themselves. There's nothing I can tell them and they don't want to hear it anyway.

Question: Are there any major roles you tried out for but didn't get? Have you and your brother ever been up for the same role? - Vingsdaman

DonEWalbrg: I've been up for some roles. I'm not really sure. I don't really remember the ones that I didn't get because I kind of just move on from it. There was one script I read and said ahhhh, and it turned out to be pretty good. I'm not going to say what it was. Mark and I haven't been up for anything but one picture. And I did an incredible audition, probably the best one I ever did. And Marky just came off of Boogie Nights so he didn't have to audition. Hopefully we'll act together, but it's weird beacause we've been on different paths. When I was finishing up music he was planting his feet in Hollywood and getting in the door and after he established himself I came along and I'm just starting to build a good reputation for myself. In time, sure we'd like to do it.

Question: Do you and Mark hang out? How come he wasn't a New Kid? - klkl00

DonEWalbrg: He was...for a few months. Him and I were the first two New Kids On The Block and he....actually we weren't NKOB we were NYNUK...it's the stupidest name in the world. But Mark can't sing and wasn't interested in singing and for Boogie Nights he sings in that and it's real awful and that's probably the best he's ever sung. He's just not cracked up for it and it wasn't his thing, but he's done real well without it.

Question: Hey Donnie.I just got done seeing the sixth sense... your a great actor. I loved you as a new kid. Your my cover boy. Do you regret being a new kid? Boxers or briefs? (i saw ur briefs in the sixth sense) -JordansGr

DonEWalbrg: LOL tighty-whities. No, I don't regret being a New Kid It's not really an important part of my life right now but I learned so much from it and enjoyed it. There were times I hated it. But kids hate high school but it's some of the fondest memories they'll ever have. For me, it was like college. I learned about business and entertainment and people and the way things operate and I finished when I was 25. And it depends on how you look at it. Some people go on a ride like that and when it ends they say, what am I going to do now. but some people say okay, now we're going to do this. By the way, boxers. I'll tell you a secret. In the sixth sense I wore boxers, but wanted to do it nude. I just felt like this character was coming to end his suffereing and hiding and so he just stripped down and got ready to confront his demons and doctor but I couldn't really do it nude so we decided the stained and soiled briefs worked.

Question: Donnie, in the sixth sense i saw you had a nipple ring, may i ask did it hurt? - Sptwarrior

DonEWalbrg: Yes. It hurt tremendously. It really did. Let me tell you. I had my nose pierced for about 8 years. and it closed up. So I went to get my nipple pierced and thought while I was there I'd get my nose repierced and I blacked out. It was the worst stupidest torture I put myself through and I took it out as soon as we were done with the Sixth Sense. It really hurt man and it was really stupid to do it. No pain killers. I went to the Gauntlet here in Hollywood and they strap on forcepts and watch this needle going through. I enjoyed it for a few years.

Question: What's the freakiest thing a fan ever did? - yousef888

DonEWalbrg: There's so much. I really don't know. I think one fan sent me some poison cake. You know, you get some food from someone, like don't take candy from strangers, well, this fan was real crazy. It looked like cake, it might have been brownies, but I'm telling you, it was poison. This girl was insane. And one night we did a pay per view concert and she was out side the limo staring in the headlights like a deer looking like she was going to kill us. And I can't prove they were poison but I knew they were. She wanted to kill me. She jumped my fence and asked my mother where is Donnie, I'm his aunt. I probably shouldn't say this, she's probably watching. LOL

Question: I heard you are getting married. When's the date? - Arlr

DonEWalbrg: I cannot reveal that. There is some element of truth to that. Absolutely.

Question: How was Bruce's personality? - Dustrain

DonEWalbrg: Fantastic. I can't say enough about how great he was to work with. Just generally speaking you understand why he's such a big movie star. He has this certain appeal being a real guy, a man's man. He is. Not only was he great to talk to and hang out with, but like I say, I was in a bad way while we were shooting and he was real conscious of that. He was always looking out and if I needed anything. And he had gone through similar processes and was very giving. movie stars don't have to give and it's important when you're acting to have some people be generous who are acting. I've been very lucky. I've worked with Mel Gibson who is the same way. Very generous. A huge, huge star, but is very generous. I've been lucky. In all films I've been in, they've been great. and Bruce is probably best of all.

Question: What do you think about your Bad Boy image from the New Kids'days? Have you outgrown that image?

DonEWalbrg: I think I've out grown it. LOL, I don't know. It just probably spawned from me wanting to be normal and not be viewed as something more special than I was. When I started with NKOB my goals were just maybe to be able to buy a car one day. I didn't know what it was going to become. We worked with what we had and did the best we could and by the grace of God we became the biggest thing in the world. And at times it became difficult to live up to that. And I probably rebelled in just wanting to be normal and walk down the street and shake hands with someone saying hi, how are you doing? And walk into a pizza shop and not be noticed. So that's where the bad boy thing started with me wanting to be normal. I enjoyed being famous, don't get me wrong. It's not like I hated it. It has huge benefits, but I like being not so famous. Just because you don't realize how great things are until they're gone. You don't realize how cool it is to just sit on the subway and read the newspaper or go into the grocery store and buy some Capt. Crunch. It's something that I cherish now. My privacy is very important to me now and I never thought it would matter. Being in a big family you didn't get much privacy but it became very important when I lost it.

Question: Can you tell us more about your plans with Howard Johnson's? -JennyRenXO

DonEWalbrg: You're stumped aren't you? My partner, Dan Newcomb and I just bought the last existing Howard Johnsons in the state of Massachusetts. the restaurant Most people know it as a hotel, but there used to be a huge chain of restaurants and I just purchased the last one and I don't really have any information about it. But go buy some ice cream. If you're from Mass. you know to go buy some ice cream. And tell Dan I said to give you a discount.

Question: Do you feel you might be typecast for a dead guy because every role except southie you die in or look dead in. - DoniesBear

DonEWalbrg: Yeah, well, they're going to do Weekend At Bernie's 5 and I'm going to be Bernie because I just play such a good dead guy. NO!. I don't worry about that. People say that, are you worried about being type cast and I don't. Playing the role in the Sixth Sense is breaking a type cast to me. That role doesn't apply to some of the other roles I've done. DonEWalbrg: I'm not worried about it anyway. They have people die a lot in the movies in case you haven't noticed.

Question: Do you ever want to have a reunion with NKOB - DAL 502

DonEWalbrg: Sure, I mean, I guess I would. It's just, you know, we've been asked a lot. We've been asked recently to do it for some big people. I won't get into the who and where and what, but it's a little too fresh now and it wouldn't be nostalgic yet. It's too quick. Some day. It's like having a high school reunion after you graduate. Some of us keep in touch. We went through something very few people get to and at the time we were the only ones going through it. We had a bond and we worked very hard to make it and went through a lot together and stuff people couldn't dream of that we experienced. Some day it would be good, but for now some guys are working on things that are important to them individually and so am I so it's not something that's going to happen soon.

Question: After being in the Sixth Sense...do you believe in ghosts?? -NKOTBBTOKN

DonEWalbrg: I'm open to believing in anything. I don't doubt anything, but most importantly, I believe in God. So if he's got ghosts running around, all right. It's his world. I've never experienced anything like that myself, but I beileve that some people are gifted in the mind with extra senses. If it's intuition or psyches or whatever, but I believe some people are gifted. I believe the writer of the Sixth Sense is gifted. And I've heard stories from people about ghosts, but I've never experienced it. And I don't walk around thinking about it.

Question: HEY DONNIE!!! What do you have in store for us yurning fans in the upcoming months??? - LaurenM999

DonEWalbrg: Well, I'm going to have a huge party at Howard Johnson's. It will be the ice cream fest... No. Well I have a film called the Bull Fighter coming out and then a film with Robert Forester... He's the man. He's the best. And, actually a film I did a while back, Southie, is going to be released in New York on 9/17 and that was an independent film that was a lot of hard work and to see it open in NY is a big achievement.

EAMusic1: Thank You Donnie for a great chat!!

DonEWalbrg: Thank you.

OnlineHost: Copyright 1999 America Online, Inc. All OnlineHost: Rights Reserved.

Next Chat