Ever since his Oscar nomination for The Departed in 2006, there's been a notable seriousness to the way Mark Wahlberg has approached his career. Sure, he still takes time for comedies like Date Night and Ted, plus mindless action like 2 Guns. But he intersperses those with more high-minded projects like Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, David O. Russell's Oscar-winning The Fighter and now the true Navy Seal adventure Lone Survivor.

Lone SurvivorMark Wahlberg [left, centre] in 'Lone Survivor'

In addition to starring as Marcus Luttrell, on whose book the film is based, Wahlberg produced the movie. (His other high-profile job as producer this year was on Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.) It's easy to see what drew him to this particular project, as it combines an inspiring true story with gripping action and harrowing drama, letting him flex his muscles both as an tough guy and as a serious actor.

The film may not be gaining much awards-season traction yet, but it will only help cement Wahlberg's position in the industry. And looking at the projects he has in development shows that he has no intention of changing his game plan. Next up, he'll flex those muscles in the Michael Bay reboot Transformers: Age of Extinction. Read our full review of Lone Survivor.

After that, he'll go for laughs in Ted 2 and take on a more serious role as a gambling addict in The Gambler, opposite Jessica Lange and Brie Larson. And of course, there's also that long-rumoured Entourage movie to work on.

Watch the trailer for 'Lone Survivor':