BEVERLY HILLS: Mark Wahlberg said his crime-ridden formative years were behind his surprise best supporting actor Oscars nomination for The Departed. Wahlberg, who plays a foul-mouthed Boston detective in the Martin Scorsese-directed crime drama, said he had used the experience of several brushes with the law in his youth to help get into character.

“I basically used that experience,” said Wahlberg. “When I got the call that I was nominated, I was able to call my parents and tell them good news that made them cry for the first time. I called them 20 or 25 times after I got arrested and one of them had to get on a train and bail me out with money that they were going to use to buy food for their nine kids.”

Wahlberg said he had not expected to be nominated with so many other acting heavyweights in the cast, including Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen.

“It was a real surprise to me,” Wahlberg said. “When we were filming I’d look around and see all these people on the set, with Marty (Scorsese) directing and think to myself ‘I’ve arrived.’”