Mark Wahlberg says Edinburgh brothers' Pacific row should be a movie

BBC News

05-06-2025

Holywood actor Mark Wahlberg has told three Scottish brothers their Pacific Ocean rowing record attempt should be made into a film.Wahlberg spoke to Edinburgh's Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean in a video call, 54 days into their venture.The brothers are aiming to complete the fastest ever non-stop and unsupported row from Peru to Sydney in Australia - a total distance of 9,000 miles (14,484km).Wahlberg was made aware of the record attempt via a friend of his personal assistant who had met Jamie when he played bagpipes at a wedding they were both attending.
The brothers, who are trying to raise £1m for clean water projects in Madagascar, are more than 5,000 miles (8,047km) from their finish line.In the call last Thursday, Wahlberg told them: "This could be a movie. "The best films I've done are based on true stories - ordinary people doing extraordinary things. "No way I'd row an ocean, but I'd play one of you guys in a movie."
The actor shared stories from shooting 2000's disaster drama The Perfect Storm with George Clooney.Wahlberg, whose other films include Ted and Transformers, told the brothers: "What you guys are doing is next level."You're living out a sense of purpose - combining passion with impact. That's rare, and it's humbling to watch."Lachlan, 27, said later he had wondered if he had imagined the conversation.He said: "We're all operating in such little sleep that we thought it all could have been a hallucination."
The brothers' 280kg boat was built to be one of the lightest and strongest ocean rowing boats ever made.It is named Rose Emily in memory of their unborn sister, with her name hand-painted on the hull by their mother.On board are 500kg of freeze-dried food, including 75kg of oats and a menu of high-calorie comfort meals prepared by Jamie.Meals include beef chilli, Thai red curry, and haggis, neeps and tatties - with the hope of adding fresh fish caught at sea.Ewan, 33, said the journey had been much tougher than expected - but they had been delighted by the call with the Hollywood star.He said: "Today we had dolphins surfing near the boat, and that lifted our spirits — and then we hear we get to speak to Mark Wahlberg, so spirits are absolutely through the roof."We are such big fans, and speaking to him is like a dream come true for us. It's so cool… but it's bloody surreal."