Tom Brady Was Reluctant to Appear in ‘Ted 2’ at First
Tom Brady is a six-time Super Bowl champion. When he isn’t leading teams to the Super Bowl, he’s traveling the world along with his supermodel wife and children, signing endorsement deals, and spreading his brand beyond the realm of the NFL.
One thing he is not, however, is an actor. Despite appearing in several shows and films as himself, he never sought to be Shaquille O’Neal or Jim Brown. When Ted 2 asked him to cameo, he wasn’t ready to commit right away.
Tom Brady as a figure
Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game. He came out of obscurity at the end of the 2000 NFL Draft and hasn’t looked back.
In just a little over a year, he went from obscure backup quarterback to Super Bowl-winner. The years since have turned him into one of the biggest names in sports around the world and one of the greatest winners ever.
Brady parlayed this success into several other endeavors. From a website where he promotes wellness and sells fitness products to anyone who wants to work out like him to endorsement deals with everyone from Ugg to Aston Martin, Brady knows how to use his name, looks, and persona to sell a product.
He might not be the beacon of charisma that other athletes are, but his ability to sell something is never in question. Although Brady might be approaching his mid-forties, his star power has never subsided since his initial success with the Patriots. Some might argue that it’s only gotten bigger.
His move over to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was one of the biggest sports stories not involving COVID-19, and the intrigue is still at the top of every football fan’s mind. He’s undoubtedly a global celebrity, and while people might not realize it, this has given him a ticket to Hollywood and other entertainment capitals throughout his career.
Tom Brady goes to Hollywood
Brady’s resume as an actor is sparse. He was, quite literally, born to play the role he’s usually given any time he’s asked to be more of an entertainer than an actor — himself.
From appearances on the ESPY’s to securing his status in a 2005 episode of The Simpsons, Brady has been given several opportunities to shine his light on Hollywood. In 2005, he hosted Saturday Night Live.
In 2003, when he was still coming up as a football player, he played a computer geek in Stuck on You, and he appeared in both the series and the film version of the HBO hit Entourage. However, his 2006 appearance on the animated comedy Family Guy paved the way for a more substantial role in creator Seth MacFarlane’s hit film Ted 2.
Brady goes R-Rated
The fact that the makers and stars of Ted 2 wanted Brady should come as no surprise. MacFarlane is an unabashed Patriots fan and the film’s other star. Mark Wahlberg is as well.
That doesn’t mean that Brady had to say yes, however. When Brady visited his friend, Wahlberg, on the set of the first film, Brady thought the concept of an R-Rated comedy about a stuffed bear was silly.
Wahlberg spoke about this to USA Today. He said: “I was pitching the concept. He just kind of had the same reaction that everyone else did. That this was kind of ridiculous, that I was probably taking like 10 steps back in my career doing this, but maybe I’ll figure it out. But then he saw the movie and he got it.”
Brady’s inhibitions were put to rest after the movie was a hit. According to Wahlberg, by the time the second one came along, he was all on board. Wahlberg added: “So when I called him. I told him what it was. As soon as he stopped laughing hysterically, he agreed to do it. Right away. He can’t control his looks. He thinks it’s silly the way people react to him sometimes. When people make a big deal about it, he just thought it was good to joke out of the whole thing. He was a good sport about it.”
Brady’s NSFW cameo features Wahlberg and the titular Ted sneaking into Brady’s house before getting caught by the quarterback. It was a hit with fans, and its appearance in the trailer helped sell the movie. Brady isn’t likely to try to go to Hollywood after he retires, but he had a hit with his brief appearance in Ted 2 and further proved that he might be able to do a little bit of everything.
