'Ted' star Mark Wahlberg on co-starring alongside animated bear

Actor says at first he was hesitant to do the film, but then he read Seth MacFarlane's script



BY JACOB OSTERHOUT / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Sunday, June 24, 2012, 6:00 AM
Updated: Sunday, June 24, 2012, 6:00 AM


In Mark Wahlberg’s perfect world, he would only make movies with inanimate co-stars.

“It's easier than working with another actor,” says the 41-year-old movie man. “Actors are a pain in the[..]. With a teddy bear, there are no ego problems and you only need one take.”

Which made filming “Ted” (out June 29), about a guy and his foul-mouthed teddy bear, such an unexpected joy.

“They’d have a little stick there with a couple of dots on it for the eyes and I’d just have to visualize that the bear was there,” he says. “It took some getting used to but in the end it was a great experience.”

“Ted,” the first film by “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, stars Wahlberg as a grown man who has to choose between his talking teddy bear, voiced by MacFarlane, and his beautiful girlfriend, played by Mila Kunis.

Despite MacFarlane’s inexperience in the movie business, Wahlberg never doubted the comedian’s moviemaking mettle.

“I’ve done a lot of movies and I can sit in a room with someone and get a good idea about whether they will be able to pull it off or not and I could tell just by meeting with him that he was going to be a good director,” says Wahlberg. “He’s been doing his show for so long that he already knew the great cinematographers and editors to work with.”

Not that Wahlberg was a big fan of MacFarlane’s animated sitcoms before making the film.

“I had never seen ‘Family Guy’ before I read the script for ‘Ted,’” says the actor twice nominated for an Oscar. “When I was pitched the concept, I wasn’t into the idea of a movie with a talking teddy bear, but then I read the script and fell in love with it. That’s when I started to watch 'Family Guy' and realized that Seth is pretty much a genius.”

Such genius, which some might find offensive, isn’t always appropriate for children, even Wahlberg’s.

“I started watching ‘Family Guy’ with my kids and my wife screamed at me because they are a little young for that humor,” says Wahlberg, who has four children, ages 2 to 8. “I just thought it was cartoons. I was wrong.”

Due to the explicit nature of the R-rated movie — which features teddy bear secks, Flash Gordon snorting cocaine and an untold number of filthy jokes about anal secks, farting and marijuana — Wahlberg’s brood won't be allowed to see “Ted” either.

“My kids think they can see the movie because they see all these posters with me and a teddy bear,” he says. “I have to tell them that it’s a potty-mouth bear and it’s not appropriate for them.”

But if there is one person for whom this film is very appropriate, it’s Wahlberg. The Dorchester, Mass., native was not only able to flex his comedic chops, but he also employed a thick Boston accent and even got to film a scene in Fenway Park.

“Filming that scene on the Green Monster in Fenway was like a dream come true,” he says. “Although they were a little uptight and wouldn’t let us run around the field. They wanted us to stay off the grass. But the cool part was that the Bruins had just won the Stanley Cup so they had the cup at Fenway and we were drinking beer out of it.”

Plus, Wahlberg is used to having a tawdry stuffed animal.

“I didn’t have a teddy bear growing up but I did have a stuffed monkey that I held onto for quite some time,” he remembers. “I was so attached to it. I took this monkey everywhere. My parents would throw it away because it was so old and dirty and I would pull it out of the garbage. And let me tell you, this monkey was certainly as foul-mouthed as Ted.”

Incredibly, the only time Wahlberg felt uncomfortable filming “Ted” was when he had to shoot a fight scene with the teddy bear.

“I didn’t actually fight the bear so it was just me flailing around,” he says. “That one I felt pretty damn ridiculous doing, I’ll be honest with you. I was just fake-fighting myself. It wasn’t fun. But people love the scene.”

As one might imagine from a man who spent months faking a conversation with a teddy bear, Wahlberg is open to almost anything when making movies.

But there is a line he will not cross.

“I’ll do anything but a musical,” says Wahlberg, who initially rose to fame with Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.

“I’m done with that. No more singing.”

Read more: 'Ted' star Mark Wahlberg on co-starring alongside animated bear: 'It's easier than working with another actor' - NY Daily News

this !! looks funny as all !!....

I bet it was awkward doing those scenes talking to nothing .

cant wait for this !!..gonna be hilarious

He said the same about Max Payne movie said he fell in love with the script until he found out it was based on a video game

When i seen the trailer with the american pie movie i laughed a little...... seen another trailer on youtube...... cornyyyyy[..] !! [pic]

i saw the screening last wed. !! is def f%$kin halarious

Looks so funny, can't wait to see it on friday.

[pic] might actually be good.........

Ted seems like one of those movies that has an irrelevant & pointless story line and has shown way too many (if not all) of the funny scenes in the trailers....kind of like "Due Date".

Me too, gonna eat a tray of brownies and laugh my[..] off.

This !! looks funny as F..k. shame its a !!ty love story though