Sammy Sheik, who stars alongside Mark Wahlberg in the Lone Survivor, spoke highly of his costar and also explained how he got into character as one of the film's antagonists.

"Mark is a great, great actor," he told EnStars at the movie premiere, held at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, on Tuesday. "He has a great work ethic and he's the first person on set and the last person to leave."

The Egyptian native, who has played in several TV shows, including In the Moment and Homeland, also said that he was impressed with Wahlberg's demeanor.

"He knows everybody's name. He's very generous and I didn't expect that," he said. "It was a really good surprise."

While it appears they are chums off the set, the two play enemies in the film. Sheik stars as one of the movie's terrorists, Taraq, while Wahlberg plays former United States Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell.

"This guy has lost a lot of family and he wouldn't stop until every American is out of his country because that's his land. It's his pride," he said of his character. "Once you justify the character, you just start every day knowing exactly why you are there and what your goal is, that's it."

The movie, which was shot in New Mexico, is based on the 2005 ill-fated military mission called "Operation Red Wings". The assignment involved four members of SEAL Team 10, who aimed to capture a Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah. Luttrell, who received a Navy Cross for his efforts, was the only one to survive the mission.

Lone Survivor hits select theaters on Wednesday, Dec. 25 and will release nationwide on Jan. 10th, 2014.

Tags: Lone Survivor Mark Wahlberg