Wahlberg, talking about being mistaken for Matt Damon by fans, says; “It happens quite often and every time Matt and I see each other we laugh about it. People come up to me and say, ‘I loved you in Bourne Identity’ and I say, ‘Wait for the next one.’” Asked why he thought the two actors were mistaken for each other, he says, “People don’t pay that much attention.”
Lauper, in her distinctive New York accent, interjects; “It happens to me once and a while. I just sign ‘Madonna.’ I don’t care and as long as I don’t talk I get away with it.”
Talking about Ted 2, Wahlberg reveals that a list of 57 movie names – reminiscent of the 57 girls’ names he had to say at high speed in the first film – was cut from the movie, “I still wake up in the morning saying the names. He (MacFarlane) made me study this thing for four months and then lost it from the film.” Wahlberg impresses the audience with a very fast delivery of the movie names.
Revealing he mistakenly introduced Family Guy to his young children, Wahlberg says; “I thought, ‘It’s a cartoon,’ I didn’t know. I’d met Seth and I thought I had better see some of his work as we were probably going to make this movie (Ted) together and they sent me the 150-anniversary episode. I start watching it with my kids and we are laughing so hard that my wife comes in saying, ‘What’s so funny, I want to be part of it,’ then she saw what we were watching and was like, ‘Oh my god,’ and turned off the TV. I was in trouble for two weeks.”
Proving his parenting skills aren’t all bad, Wahlberg says, “I got my high school diploma recently to teach my kids that they need to buckle down and so they can’t say, ‘You didn’t graduate high school and you are successful so why do I have to go to school?’”
At Norton’s request, MacFarlane sings three of Lauper’s songs each in a different Family Guy accent.
Lauper, talking about her award winning music for Kinky Boots, says; “I was always told what I could and couldn’t do as Cindy Lauper, but with this musical I could do what I wanted, there were no rules and I saw the opportunities. At the time no one believed in me as a songwriter. A song is like a dress – it needs to be tailored and I wanted to do a good job.”
Ó Briain, talking about his new documentary in which he meets Stephen Hawking, says; “He is cool and very funny. I’d met him before and I’d even been out with him – we went out drinking, me, him and Benedict Cumberbatch. We were like the weirdest crime-solving trio. It was a fabulous night and Stephen is very gregarious in his own way. When I first met him there was that awkward thing of Stephen’s delayed answers so there is a tendency to chatter – I had to learn to shut up.”
Before Lauper performs, Not My Father’s Son live in the studio, Wahlberg and MacFarlane reprise the Thunder Buddy Song from Ted.
Finally, Norton pulls the lever on more foolhardy audience members brave enough to sit in the Red Chair.
This episode of The Graham Norton Show airs on Tuesday, 23 June at 21:40 on BBC Entertainment, channel 120 on DStv.