“There were a couple of things early on”: The One Joke Mark Wahlberg Refused to Make in Ted 2
Mark Wahlberg, also known as Marky Mark, has been in show business for more than three decades now. He has starred as the lead actor in movies of many genres such as comedy, drama, and action. He has also worked as a producer on several projects. Besides having numerous accolades, he was also awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010.
Having made his debut in 1993 with the TV film The Substitute, Mark Wahlberg went on to star in some of the best movies of all time such as Transformers, Planet of the Apes, and Ted. Ted is a hit comedy film that was released in 2012, but there were some jokes that The Departed star refused to make.
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Mark Wahlberg Refused to Make Jokes on a Certain Subject
Celebrities often end up setting examples that can be both good and bad. People look up to these celebrities and even learn things from them as entertainment is a huge part of society. As humans, everyone is bound to make mistakes, but when one’s every single move is under public scrutiny, they have to be more careful than the rest.
Mark Wahlberg seemed to understand this while making Ted and its sequel Ted 2. The movie follows John Bennett and his childhood teddy bear Ted (voice and motion capture provided by Seth MacFarlane) who is alive as they try to navigate through certain issues such as Ted being bitter about John’s progressing relationship with his girlfriend Lori Collins (portrayed by Mila Kunis).
In an interview with Uproxx, Wahlberg revealed that while the director Seth MacFarlane did not run the jokes with him to make sure if he was all alright with them, the Infinite actor refused to make jokes about religion. When asked if there were any such jokes, he said: “There were a couple of things early on, but he [MacFarlane] knows. He’s cool. And not just about my religion, but any religion.” That was probably for the best because any jokes about religion would not only adversely affect the movie’s performance but also the actor’s career.
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Mark Wahlberg Did Not Interfere With the Director’s Work
Ted was Seth MacFarlane’s directorial debut feature film. He also wrote the film and provided the sound and motion capture for the character of John Bennett’s teddy bear. The movie was a hit at the box office as it grossed $549.4 million against a production budget of $50–65 million budget.
There was a joke in Ted 2 about improv performers. The Uproxx interviewer brought this up and asked Mark Wahlberg if he thought it was too recent (in 2015). The actor replied to this, saying:
“Here’s the great thing, I’m an actor for hire and Seth is the writer and director and the voice of the bear. He takes full responsibility and he’s never been one to tone anything down.”
Even so, Wahlberg confirmed that the joke was about improv performers, and there is always someone horrible who will make ridiculous jokes. He went on to say that John and Ted could be that kind of people, but that wouldn’t make MacFarlane censor himself.
