Arthur The King Puts Mark Wahlberg in Survival Mode

Mark Wahlberg is about to be pushed to the brink.

In his upcoming adventure epic Arthur The King, the actor treks a massive 700km in just ten days as he competes in the gruelling Adventure Racing World Championship across the Dominican Republic.

OK, so he’s only acting. Wahlberg isn't doing this for real, but his journey mirrors an incredible true story of overcoming the odds.

That story belongs to super Swede Mikael Lindnord who, in 2014, participated in that very same race - and almost lost his life.

"You always dream about the perfect race, the perfect life, the perfect event, but it never happens," Lindnord tells me.

"Early in the race we had a navigation mistake and then I remember the rain was pouring down and we were like, ‘can we take this road?’ ‘Yes, but don’t check the map too much.'"

It resulted in Lindnord and his team having to trek up an entire mountain, across white water rivers, and around poisonous spiders, all with their bikes in tow. "That was like 'argh!'"

While Wahlberg plays Lindnord, the real star of the movie is his scrappy street dog companion, Arthur. Together, the pair navigate impossible terrain as they run, climb, kayak and swim to the finish line.

"He became our motivation, the motivator in the team. And that's where I first thought he was a special dog. But otherwise the big, big step was when he jumped into the water after us. And he came and lay down on my kayak." That pivotal moment is one of many the film adapts.

In fact, the bond Lindnord and Arthur shared was so great he ended up adopting the dog, who came to live with him and his family in Sweden.

"The thing with Arthur is that he never gives up...I think that’s why people love the story. Because he never gives up."

Not everyone is so lucky. Nicole Kidman was attacked by a dog on the set of her new movie.

Arthur The King also features Barbie’s Simu Liu, Game of Thrones’ Nathalie Emmanuel and, playing himself in a narration role, survival expert Bear Grylls.

Arthur The King releases into cinemas 15 March.