Mark Wahlberg To Host Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards

Mark Wahlberg (Lone Survivor, The Fighter) is not what you would call a kid’s action star since most of his films are rated R. However, he has been selected to host the Kids Choice Awards.

The Oscar and Golden Globe nominee will be joined by Hollywood’s biggest, brightest stars in the 27th annual edition of the awards, in which kids rule the evening.

Russell Hicks, Nickelodeon’s President of Content Development and Production, said in a statement from Nickelodeon:

“We are thrilled to welcome a superstar like Mark Wahlberg as he takes the helm as our master of ceremonies at the biggest kid event of the year. We can’t wait for him to host and have lots of slime-filled fun with Hollywood’s biggest stars and our audience.”

Mark Wahlberg received a Critics Choice Awards for his work in the war film Lone Survivor in which he plays real American hero Marcus Lutrell who, during the war in Afghanistan, sets out on a mission to capture or kill notorious al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd in late June 2005.

Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.

Mark Wahlberg has also received nominations and several awards for his roles in the inspirational boxing film The Fighter and Martin Scorcese’s The Departed.

Other notable films in which Wahlberg has starred include The Italian Job, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, 2Guns, and Ted. We will next see the action actor in Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Mark Wahlberg is not only a very successful actor, but a producer of films including Lone Survivor, 2 Guns, and the upcoming Entourage.

The 42-year-old is also known as a generous philanthropist and founder of Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation –which he started in 2001 to benefit inner city children and teens.

Nick fans will be able to get in on the action by voting for their favorite celebrities online — at Nick.com and in a Nick App and also get to get familiar with their 2014 host, Mark Wahlberg.

Last year was what Nick calls “slime-tastic extravaganza watched by more than 12 million total viewers over its weekend plays.”

Kids selected their favorite artists with a record-breaking 392 million votes in 22 categories — which included live voting during the Orange Carpet pre-show.

Mark Wahlberg became a successful actor, after a difficult childhood in which he was in trouble with the police department in his native Boston and by age 13 had developed an addiction to cocaine.

You can see Mark Wahlberg host the 27th annual Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice awards live, Saturday March 29 at 8 pm/ET.

[Image via Nickelodeon/Twitter]