Matt Damon almost starred in Ted, and he blames a talking teddy bear for why he didn’t. The Boston native had a shot at a second movie with Mark Wahlberg after The Departed, but he overthought it and talked himself out of it. In an interview with GQ, Damon said:
“I was like, Well, ‘maybe the teddy bear’s actually the best part.…’ So I overthought it and I talked myself out of it.”
Instead, Wahlberg took the lead in Seth MacFarlane’s comedy, and the bear next to him went on to become a franchise. Damon now admits that the bear is exactly what threw him off.
How Ted Became Mark Wahlberg’s Big Hit After The Departed
Tedcame out in 2012, six years after The Departed won Best Picture. Wahlberg played John Bennett, a Boston man whose childhood teddy bear comes to life. MacFarlane voiced the bear and made his live-action directing debut. Mila Kunis co-starred, and the film was a big box-office hit, grossing $549 million worldwide.
For fans, a second movie with the two of them would have been a big deal. In The Departed, Damon played the crooked state trooper Colin Sullivan, and Wahlberg played the foul-mouthed Sgt. Dignam. The role earned Wahlberg his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. However, he lost to Alan Arkin.
On paper, it might have worked. Both men grew up in Boston, rose up in the same generation of Hollywood actors, and built careers that moved easily between tough dramas, action, and comedy. Damon found his franchise in Jason Bourne, while Wahlberg became known as a producer who backs his own projects.
Damon wasn’t the only one with doubts about Ted. Wahlberg doubted the idea at first too. Page Six reported that his wife, Rhea Durham, even called him a “f**king idiot” for considering it. He changed his mind after reading the script. Calling it a great buddy movie, Wahlberg said (per Today):
“I read the script, and 30 pages into it, I forgot that it was a bear. It’s just this really great relationship movie.”
He has said the project reminded him of Boogie Nights, a gamble that was “either going to be brilliant, or it’s going to be awful.” He also warmed to it after meeting MacFarlane and seeing how the bear looked in a test.
Now, even without a second movie together, both Damon and Wahlberg still get lumped in together. People have been mixing them up for years. Wahlberg previously admitted that strangers often mistake him for Damon, and it goes the other way too. Still, the two of them just shrug it off.
Ted wasn’t the only near-miss. Damon has said he passed on The Fighter, the 2010 boxing drama that starred Wahlberg. Meanwhile, both actors have since stayed busy on their own. Wahlberg turned Ted into a franchise, with a sequel in 2015 and a prequel series. Damon, on the other hand, has kept working with major directors.
Would you like to see Damon and Wahlberg reunite on screen? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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Edited by:Souhardya Choudhury
