Mark Wahlberg is so serious about convincing audiences as boxing legend Mickey 'Irish' Ward in upcoming movie The Fighter, he's already been in training for a year.

Even though the film doesn't start shooting for another eight months, Wahlberg has been getting up at four o'clock every morning for the last 12 months to get in top physical condition for the part.

The actor trains for hours each day despite the fact he's currently filming another movie, The Happening.

He tells MTV, "It will be a year, on October 13, that I have been training. I have another six to eight months of training before we actually start shooting. We're running, we're watching fights... I've got a full ring set up at my house. (We're shooting The Happening) in Philadelphia now, so it's a bit of a Rocky thing. I am up at four in the morning. We go to the gym at five when it opens. I'm jumping rope, hitting the speed bag, the double-end bag, the mitts, and we're sparring a little bit."

-Mark Wahlberg Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)