The actor, who has always been vocal about his

Mark Wahlberg is seeking a pardon from the state of Massachusetts for a vicious racially-charged attack he committed as a teenager that left a man blind in one eye.

Court documents reveal just how horrifying the 1988 attack was - including startling racial slurs he shouted at the victim and others - but the actor insists he is now 'a better person and citizen'.

Wahlberg, who served 45 days in jail after the assault, says his record continues to impact him and could prevent businesses, such as restaurants, that work with him from getting licenses.

He insists he has come a long way since April 1988, when he attacked Thanh Lam with a five-foot stick while yelling slurs at him in order to steal the two cases of beer he was carrying.

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Troubled past: Mark Wahlberg served 45 days in prison after he blinded a man in a 1988 assault

Documents included in his pardon request show he called the Vietnamese immigrant a 'Vietnam f***ing s***' before striking him so hard that the stick broke in two and knocked Lam unconscious, according to the documents shared by The Smoking Gun.

He then fled the scene and approached a second man, Hoa Trinh, put his arm around his shoulder and asked him to help him hide.

But once police passed, Wahlberg hit him, leaving him blind in one eye.

When Boston cops tracked Wahlberg down and took him back back to the scene of the assault outside a convenience store in Dorchester, he told officers: 'You don't have to let him identify me, I'll tell you now that's the motherf***** whose head I split open', the documents show.

Authorities wrote that he also made 'numerous unsolicited racial statements about 'gooks' and "slant-eyed gooks".'

In his plea, Wahlberg said that he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time.

'From later accounts of the incident, it is my understanding that I may have caused serious injuries' to the men, he wrote.

Other documents show that, in an earlier attack in Dorchester, he and two friends saw a group of black siblings and chased them.

Changed man: Now, Wahlberg is hoping to get a pardon for his past actions

Scene of the crime: The liquor store where Wahlberg attacked a man with a stick and then ran away

'We don't like black n****** in the area so get the f*** away from the area,' the boys shouted at the group, according to the documents.

They then chased the boys, shouting: 'Kill the n*****, kill the n*****'.

The following day, the group encountered one of the boys again and threw rocks at him. One of the rocks thrown by Wahlberg and one of his friends hit a nearby girl.

The trio caused 'a high level of anxiety, fear and intimidation', the documents said.

Though he was then only 16 at the time of the 1988 attack, he was charged as an adult and convicted of assault. According to NECN the initial charge was attempted murder.

After emerging from prison, Wahlberg went on to find success in music with Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and as a Calvin Klein model.

Family guy: Wahlberg (above with wife Rhea Durham and three of his children and Kevin Hart) is now committed to multiple charities and attends church every day

But it was his appearance in the 1996 film Boogie Nights that really changed things, catapulting Wahlberg into the critically-acclaimed box office juggernaut that he is today.

'I am deeply sorry for the actions that I took on the night of April 8, 1988, as well as for any lasting damage that I may have caused the victims,' Wahlberg wrote in the pardon application.

'Since that time, I have dedicated myself to becoming a better person and citizen so that I can be a role model to my children and others.'

He devotes much of his time and a large amount of his money to various charities, including the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and the Dorchester Boys and Girls Club.

He is also a family man now, married to former model Rhea Durham and the father of four children, and attends church daily.

The Board of Pardons will investigate the petition to decide if it warrants a hearing before it is recommended to the governor who by that time will be the recently elected Charlie Baker.

Pardon? It will ultimately be up to newly elected Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (above) to decide whether or not Wahlberg should be pardoned

And while erasing the past is important, Wahlberg points out that he still talks about what he did to show how much a person can change.

But he said that, as a convicted criminal, there are still some things he cannot do and for that he needs a pardon, including working with law enforcement to help at-risk youth.

In the end, however, it is about showing his growth.

'The more complex answer is that receiving a pardon would be a formal recognition that I am not the same person that I was on the night of April 8, 1988,' Wahlberg explains.