Mark Wahlberg’s Wife Called Him the ‘Dumbest Guy in the World’ for Doing ‘Ted’
Mark Wahlberg once shared that his wife Rhea Durham was a little concerned about her husband’s future when he collaborated with Seth MacFarlane. Durham felt doing a comedy like Ted might’ve done her husband’s career little favors.
How Rhea Durham responded to Mark Wahlberg doing ‘Ted’
MacFarlane switched from animation to live-action with his directorial debut Ted. The 2012 feature followed Wahlberg’s antics with a sentient teddy bear who was also voiced by the Family Guy creator. Wahlberg had no idea MacFarlane was connected to his hit animated series. He was convinced to do the project based on the script alone. Family Guy, however, only further sold Wahlberg on MacFarlane’s talents.
“I had never seen Family Guy before I read the script for Ted. 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,” Wahlberg once told Daily Actor.
Not everyone shared Wahlberg’s enthusiasm for the project, however. According to Wahlberg, his wife believed doing the raunchy comedy was a mistake.
“When I told my wife on the way to the Oscars that I was doing a movie about a talking teddy bear, she said, ‘You’re the dumbest guy in the world, this will be the last you’re ever going to be at the Oscars, and you’re going to ruin your career,’” Wahlberg once told Vulture.
Wahlberg asserted that he had similar doubts about the project in the back of his head. In hindsight, the star had little to worry about since Ted became a hit.
“You try to pitch it in a way that they get it: You know, The bear is really cool, and it’s edgy, and it’s this kind of bromance. And she’s like, ‘Yeah, whatever. Dumb idea.’ Right? I felt the same way when I was pitched it. It’s hard to wrap it up in a bow, but then you know what? It was a nice surprise; it was the most successful movie of my career and the most successful original R-rated comedy of all time, in the world,” he said.
Mark Wahlberg compared working with Seth MacFarlane to working with directors like Tim Burton
Wahlberg had nothing but kind things to say about his collaboration with MacFarlane. The Departed star reflected on a pleasant work environment that he was always eager to be a part of. It was an experience he only shared with a few other directors in his career.
“Working with him was a dream. He’s such a sweet guy, such a generous guy, I just had a blast. It was one of those occasions like an Adam McKay or a Tim Burton where you just can’t wait to get to the set and be around the guy and watch him do his thing, it was one of those special occasions,” Wahlberg once told Collider.
They were words MacFarlane might’ve been relieved to hear, as the animator was anxious at the idea of directing his first feature.
“Yeah, that’s always in the back of my head, because it is my first film,” MacFarlane once told Complex. “At this point, with the animated TV shows, there’s a little bit of… Not that I ever try to take advantage of it, but there’s always a little bit of room for error; here, there’s no room for error. There will be a lot of eyeballs on it, so it will have to do what it’s expected to do. We’ve seen enough test screenings with audiences that make me breath a pretty big sigh of relief.”
Mark Wahlberg credited his family for being able to do movies like ‘Ted’
Wahlberg might not have been willing to do a comedy like Ted earlier in his career. But the actor’s wife and kids helped mature him throughout the years. Ironically, this made it easier for him to take on sillier roles.
“I’ve really found myself in a really comfortable position. I’ve always said that years ago I wouldn’t have been able to do something like this – I was a little too self-conscious,” Wahlberg once told MTV News (via Digital Spy).”Now, being a married father of four, I don’t give a s**t about what anyone thinks. So I’m just ready to get crazy, look stupid, come off as being ridiculous, and that’s what acting is.”
