As an actor, Donnie Wahlberg's first film appearance was in the 1996 film Bullet with Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur, a project that lit a spark in him, motivating him to continue to work on his craft. Also in 1996, he appeared as a kidnapper in over his head in Ransom with Mel Gibson. Wahlberg received attention for his role in the 1999 film The Sixth Sense, playing the distraught patient of Bruce Willis's character in the opening sequence. This role was originally intended for a 13-year-old boy until Wahlberg met with writer and director M. Night Shyamalan to inquire about obtaining the rights for a theatre production and ended up getting this pivotal role. In September 2006, he also starred as Paul Rader of the new TV series Runaway on the CW Television Network.
Paul Rader is the patriarch - husband and father of the family, a successful attorney. He was wrongly accused of the murder of Erin Baxter, a beautiful young associate in his law firm. The real killer's next move is to go after his three children, so Paul must relocate them.