After three films together, Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis have become “a pretty tight team,” says the actress, who got plenty of practice being funny opposite Ashton Kutcher on eight seasons of “That ’70s Show.”
With “Ted,” Kunis and Wahlberg’s comedic chemistry helped propel the breakout hit to become the top-grossing R-rated film of all time, earning $500 worldwide.
“We both knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into,” Kunis says of working with writer-director Seth MacFarlane (for whom she has been doing “Family Guy” since age 16).
“Mark and I have similar comedy styles, and when we did the table read, we immediately realized we had the same intent with it, as far as where the humor was going and how we wanted to approach it.”
Like his TV work, MacFarlane’s feature debut boasts plenty of risque scatological jokes, as well as a prostitute-loving, pot-smoking teddy bear as their co-star.
“Everything was so surreal, what with the talking teddy bear existing in the real world, so we knew we had to play everything else as real as possible. That way, as long as all the humor stayed grounded, then the situational comedy was relatable.”
Although both leads take the creation of comedy very seriously, “It was impossible not to laugh on set,” the actress says. “Mark and I would be sitting there with the bear and its puppeteer, trying to be serious, and you just can’t help yourself.”
Although both stars contributed their share of ad libs, “Seth’s script was so tight and well-written that it wasn’t a big improv-based film,” she says. “The humor came less from the dialogue we spoke than the situations and action, and it resonated with audiences because it’s lowbrow humor set in a highbrow situation.”
