Mark Wahlberg Happy To 'Look Stupid' For 'Ted'

'I'm just ready to get crazy, look stupid, come off as being ridiculous,' star tells MTV News about Seth MacFarlane's live-action debut.
By Kara Warner

Mark Walhberg
Photo:

No matter how hilarious and realistic the furry and foul-mouthed star of "Ted" might appear in the trailers and clips, the human stars of the film did not get an animated bear to physically act with: Instead, they had to rely on their own imaginations and "act with nothing" for much of filming.

When MTV News caught up with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis recently during the film's press day, we asked them what acting skills they discovered or honed while making Seth MacFarlane's live-action debut.

"I've really found myself in a really comfortable position," Wahlberg shared. "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. And now, being a married father of four, I don't give a sh-- 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.

"I really admire — and I've seen it in some really young actors — coming from a musical background, coming from the street, always worrying about being cool, wanting to be perceived as hip, you don't want to do too many things that may make you look a little skeptical," he continued. "I remember when we were doing 'Four Brothers' and telling Tyrese and André Benjamin to look at Garrett Hedlund, and no matter how ridiculous he looked, he would still be willing to try anything, and I admired it."

Wahlberg went on to say that his total comfort in his own skin has come via different stages in his career and being able to take risks and that "Ted" — coming to theaters Friday — is a perfect fit for his mindset right now: "This is full-blown, ass in the air, not caring about anything," he said with a smile.

Wahlberg's love interest in the film is played by Mila Kunis, who was the first to admit that in terms of the difficulty of acting to nothing, she had the easy job.

"I didn't have it as hard as Mark did. Mark had it pretty rough because he had a lot of physical activities with the bear," she explained. "I just had to talk to an imaginary friend. You know sometimes when you're driving and you have conversations in your head? This was kind of like that except [done] outward.

"And I had MacFarlane in my ear through an earwig, so I didn't feel like I was talking to space necessarily. He was off to the side hooked up to a machine acting the bear out, and I was getting the feed into my ear."

Check out everything we've got on "Ted."

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