“Max Payne,” the movie starring Mark Wahlberg, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Mila Kunis, opened nationwide last Friday. Playing a character from the hit 2001 video game, Wahlberg (“The Departed”) is a cop framed for the brutal murders of his family and partner. Fleeing from the police, he submerges himself in the criminal underworld to find those responsible, and as he delves into the conspiracy surrounding the deaths, he finds himself caught in the middle of a supernatural war. Chris Bridges (“Crash”) plays an internal affairs agent, and Mila Kunis (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) plays a mysterious Russian assassin who teams up with Max.

Student Life talked to Wahlberg about the film (and “SNL’s” “Mark Walhberg Talks to Animals” skit), to Kunis about her extensive KGB (former Russian secret police) experience and to Ludacris about how he almost played a 60-year-old white man.

SL: We were just wondering…what attracted [you] to the role of Max?

Mark Wahlberg: Well, I’d been looking to do something with some action, some energy, some intensity. After doing “The Lovely Bones” and doing M. Night [Shyamalan]’s movie “The Happening,” I definitely wanted to do something where I could really go off.

SL: What did you do to physically and psychologically prepare for the role of Max Payne?

MW: Well physically, I didn’t have to do all that much. I’ve been training to do a boxing movie for two years now so I kinda came in in shape. But psychologically, I would say I just had to put myself in that headspace of imagining that something horrific happened to my family. Which is not a fun place to go, you know. I had to stay in that space for the course of the 12 weeks of production.

SL: We were just wondering what your feelings were on the [“Saturday Night Live”] sketch from last week, “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals.”

MW: Well, it certainly wasn’t as funny as Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin. I haven’t really watched “Saturday Night Live” for a while. …It was okay. It was kinda funny. It was funnier than that movie he did, “Hot Shots.” [“Hot Rods,” the 2007 film starring Andy Samberg.]

SL: Is that the kind of thing that comes out of nowhere, or did you have any idea that that was airing?

MW: No, but tell that guy I said, “Say hi to your mother for me.”

SL: Chris, have you played “Max Payne” [the video game]? If so, how close do you think the movie and the video game are?

Ludacris: I definitely did get a chance to play the video game. I think that the whole story line of the movie is loosely based off the video game, but it takes it to a whole other exciting and action-packed level…I got the part, and it was definitely written for a 60-year-old white man at first. So, you know, it’s very ironic.

SL: How [did] you guys [film] the “bullet time” sequences?

MW: We didn’t use any wires or anything. We used a new 1,000-frames-per-second camera, and I actually was just jumping off a bunch of apple boxes and landing on my face or body.

SL: [Mila,] you’ve become really well known for you comedic work in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “That ’70s Show” and, our personal favorite, “Family Guy.” Was the switch to drama a calculated move? How is it different from the comedic work you’ve done?

Mila Kunis: I mean, no. It’s as calculated as anything is. It’s one of those things where you get the opportunity to do a movie like this, you jump at the chance…It’s not like I made a conscious decision “oh, the next film I do is going to be an action movie starring Ludacris and Mark Wahlberg.” It doesn’t quite work that way.

SL: Is the Russian mobster character a stretch for you or do you enjoy playing a badass?

MK: Well, it’s amazing. When I was in the KGB, in my youth, they taught me a lot. I got to really play off my personal experiences with Putin. He really taught me well back in the mother country. No! I mean, of course it’s a stretch!

SL: [Ludacris,] with the new album being released soon and your role in “Max Payne,” are you able to balance rapping and acting? Or do you focus on one at a time?

L: I focus on one at a time, but luckily, when you shoot movies, it takes them almost a year to turn them around. When you’re doing music, you can do that and put it right out. So, it just so happens that both projects are coming out right around the same time, because I stopped both of the movies earlier this year or last year, and the album I’ve been recording over the past four months.

SL: What was it like to work with a unique director with such a diverse background like John Moore, who has made films ranging from family fare like “Flight of the Phoenix” to horror films like “The Omen”? What did he bring to the table for you?

MK: He is by far one of the most passionate, enthusiastic directors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. You know very well the second you finish speaking if the take is good or bad, because the second the last word comes out of your mouth you either hear a groan or a very loud scream. I mean, literally, take for take John would get so excited and/or not, but you definitely knew if you nailed it.

Readers can view all the nailed “Max Payne” scenes now, in all participating theaters.