Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have discussed the making of By Any Means, a crime thriller inspired by the murders of civil rights activists in 1960s Mississippi.
The film follows two men from sharply contrasting worlds as they attempt to investigate the killings, build trust and pursue justice in a period marked by racial violence and institutional resistance.
Abdul-Mateen plays a young Black FBI agent sent to Mississippi to examine a series of brutal attacks targeting civil rights leaders. Wahlberg portrays Greg Scarpa, a notorious Mafia hitman recruited to help with the investigation.
The story is based on the real-life murder of Vernon Dahmer Sr, an NAACP leader who was killed when his home in Hattiesburg was firebombed in 1966. The production company Hammerstone Studios said the film draws on the FBI’s use of Scarpa as an informant while creating a fictional FBI partner for the story.
Speaking to CBS Mornings, the actors reflected on the experience of working on a film that combines an action-driven crime plot with the history of the American civil rights movement.
Directed by Elegance Bratton and written by Sascha Penn, By Any Means is being released in cinemas in the United States on Friday, 4 September 2026.
