So, first of all, this film could not be accused of having a dull moment.
Well, that's good.
There's a delicious lack of boundaries. Were you just given free reign with it?
Yeah. You know, Universal and MRC really allowed me to do the movie that I wanted to do. There
wasn't a lot of meddling, there wasn't a lot of- Any studio involvement was constructive
and helpful but, for the most part, they really gave me the freedom to do the movie that
I had designed the blueprint for.
Were there any bits that you had to fight for with them? Like, I want to stick a flower
in Liam Neeson's...
Not really. Not really, no. The only thing I had to fight for a little bit, this is so
strange, was the opening title sequence. Because I wanted to do an old fashioned, Hollywood,
orchestral main title that drum rolls the movie and I got a lot of blow back from that
because, in this day and age... And I think a lot of that is just knee-jerk, people's
attention spans but it's not like somebody has a remote in the theatre to switch over
to, you know, Fox News. You've already paid your ticket, they're there to see a show.
And, obviously this film sees you transition into Seth MacFarlane, big movie star.
- Does that feel a bit weird? - We will see.
Yeah, you know, when the film opens and, assuming it opens well, then I will accept that.
Are you a bit tentative now?
Yeah. Yeah, nothing's been proven yet.
And obviously you do a lot in this. What was your biggest challenge and the hardest part
of doing all that acting?
The biggest challenge was, well, I'm certainly doing all three jobs at once. But, I was worried
that the transition from voice acting on Family Guy to live action film acting would be, um,
a stretch, but it really wasn't as much of a leap as I feared and I was opposite Charlize
Theron who is the most magnificent, most brilliant actress I could have hired and she just- You
play opposite someone that good and, even if you're kinda new at it, you're probably gonna be okay.
I really like that you guys had a quite modern love story but in a different era. If Seth
MacFarlane had to exist in another era, when do you think you would fit in best?
Let's see, when was penicillin invented? Anytime after the invention of antibiotics, great!
That's a good thing to think about.
I'm very practical.
Obviously, you're shooting a lot of this in the desert, did that get a bit like 'Oh my
good God!'
Yeah, the desert was almost as hot as this room right now.
Yeah, there was one day that was 108 degrees.
That's disgusting.
It was, yeah. And, it's funny, Liam was there and he was in all these layers and the guy,
this is a tough guy, he never complained once. He said, 'Oh, I'm actually alright. I'm actually alright.'
And I'm like, 'My God, I'm sitting here in shorts and a t-shirt, sweating, pouring
water over my head and here's Liam, tough as nails.'
Everyone I speak to says he's the nicest person in the whole world.
The nicest guy, the nicest guy. He just truly is as nice as he is talented. So humble and
soft spoken and just a guy you just- Everyone was so excited to have him on the set too.
Now that you've achieved this, it's obviously pretty big, what have you got your eye on
next because you could kind of do anything, I reckon.
I'm taking three weeks and not leaving my bed. I'm gonna sleep for three weeks straight.
And next... I mean Ted 2 is next.
That's exciting.
Yeah, I'm getting stressed just saying it.
Will you get to hang out with Mila Kunis again?
No, actually, believe it or not, Amanda Seyfried is taking over our leading lady.
You're switching?
We're switching. It's a new story. It's a new story, we're not telling the same- we're
not doing a sequel that's a rehash of the first one because that would drive me nuts.
I would go crazy having to make the same movie twice, so it is a new story that explores
a different facet of Ted's life. And I don't want to spoil anything, but it required a...
a reshuffling of characters and I had had such a great time with Amanda. She was so talented
so... such a selfless actress, just such a team player, that you know, look no further than this movie.
Very quickly, before I go, what is your favourite line from this film?
Yeah, there's- Amanda has, I don't know if it's my favourite line but it always makes
me laugh because it's Amanda being so good with one line. Why Amanda saying 'I have that
skirt' makes me laugh every time, I have no idea, but it does.
It's like classic Mean Girls.
Yes, it's just very loaded, very loaded delivery.
Well, it's been a pleasure chatting to you, Seth.
Thank you very much.