In Paramount's The Gambler, Mark Wahlberg plays Jim Bennett, a professor by day and a degenerate gambler by night, who continues to rack up more and more debt from his illicit hobby. Today we have an exclusive preview where the star reveals he wanted to take on one of his toughest scenes in the movie first, a 10-page lecture where he discusses William Shakespeare with his class. The actor explains that filmmaker Rupert Wyatt was surprised by his choice to tackle this dialogue-heavy scene right away, but the actor says that he learned a trick from his time on The Fighter, where they got the most physical scenes done as soon as possible.

We also hear from Brie Larson, who plays one of Bennett's students Amy. She reveals that Mark Wahlberg must have done that scene over 100 times, over the first two days of production, and watching him work was like "acting 101" because every take was different and unique. Director Rupert Wyatt goes onto say that Mark knew that scene in his sleep, despite how complex it was. The plot follows Bennett, who is leading a secret double life as a high-stakes gambler. When Jim is forced to borrow money from a notorious gangster, he places the lives of those he loves in mortal danger. With time running out, he must enter the criminal underworld and risk everything to keep from losing it all.

Take a look at our exclusive preview for The Gambler below. The drama is currently available to purchase on Digital HD before arriving on Blu-ray and DVD April 28. While we don't see them in this preview, The Gambler co-stars Jessica Lange, Sonya Walger, John Goodman and Michael K. Williams.