Actor and devout Catholic Mark Wahlberg said he sold his mansion in Beverly Hills and left woke Christian-bashing Hollywood for Nevada, where he hopes to build a film studio.
Wahlberg has lobbied Nevada state lawmakers to pass a bill that would increase tax credits for film production from $10 million per year to $190 million.
"I would love to see us building studios, creating jobs and just diversifying the economy" in Nevada, Wahlberg told CNBC. "I've moved my last film here. I'm shooting another film here coming up in the summertime."
Wahlberg has made at least two purchases in Nevada, a $15.6 million 2.5-acre block of land in an exclusive area that he plans to build out, as well as a $14.5 million bungalow to live in as construction begins, according to Elite Agent.
"I think there's so much more opportunity to be created here. There's so much growth and so much potential, it's a wonderful opportunity for everybody to prosper," he said.
Wahlberg told Fox Business he hopes Las Vegas will become Hollywood 2.0.
"We're looking to create 10,000 jobs on the studio alone," he said. "The average salary would be $100,000 more than what it is now. We want to train people both in front of and behind the camera, create jobs, most importantly, first and foremost, for locals."
In an industry that is hostile, to say the least, to Christians, Wahlberg is not hesitant to express his faith, even to leftist media that embrace the woke ideology targeting people of faith.
In an interview earlier this year posted by the "Today" YouTube channel, he said: "[My faith] it's everything, it really has, it's afforded me so many things. … God didn't come here to save the saints, He came to save the sinners."
Christianity, is "not popular in my industry, but, you know, I cannot deny my faith," Wahlberg continued. "It’s important for me to share that with people. I have friends from all walks of life and all different types of faiths and religions, so you know, it’s important to respect and honor them as well."
Wahlberg, a native of Boston and father of four children, added: “God knows the things that He wants you to detach from. We all know those things that make us feel guilty, don’t make us feel as good as we should. So being able to detach from those things and focus on good habits as opposed to bad habits is just challenging people to be better versions of themselves.”
Other celebrities have also fled the leftist California, including Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, and Matt Damon.
Last month, actor Dennis Quaid and other celebrities took part in a campaign for Texas to become a new filming destination. Mathew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson also appeared in the spot advocating for projects to come to the Lone Star state.
"Texas did a really good job at taking a big share of the tech industry away from Silicon Valley. You go down to Austin and you can see that really clearly. And the same thing can be done with movies and television shows. It's a great place to shoot," Quaid said.
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