An Interview with Max Burkholder & Giorgia Whigham from ‘Ted’

TED -- "Subways, Bicycles, and Automobiles" Episode 104 -- Pictured: (l-r) Max Burkholder as John, Seth MacFarlane as voice of Ted, Giorgia Whigham as Blaire -- (Photo by: PEACOCK)

Max Burkholder and Giorgia Whigham are a pair of rising stars in the industry that have already appeared in some pretty iconic franchises, such as The Orville and The Punisher, respectively. Currently, they star as John Bennett and Blaire, respectively, in the new Peacock series, Ted, and we here at NTG had the distinct honor of sitting down with both of them to discuss this delightful new chapter in the Ted saga.
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John Betancourt:  I would love to know what it was that attracted each of you to this project.
 
Giorgia Whigham: I mean, it was easy from the jump, we, you know, I got the tape and how could you not want to be a part of this franchise and work with Seth MacFarlane and, you know, that talented group that he's just kind of created. And so, it was really, it was just an immediate for me, you know, I put a tape down as soon as I could.
 
Max Burkholder: Yeah, same immediate, absolute, no brainer. I mean, my brother and I used to stay up late and watch Family Guy on a laptop in secret because we weren't allowed to. (Laughter from all) Seth MacFarlane’s sense of humor is what created my own sense of humor. So, the second that something like this, the second the email came in for the tape, I was just like, “Oh, if I got to do this, it would just be… it'd be perfect.”
 
Giorgia Whigham: It was almost too far out of reach. I couldn't even imagine.
 
Max Burkholder: Oh, no, I sent in the tape being like “Alright, well, not gonna get this. Hopefully they bring me back in like a guest spot later in the season.” That was my first thought.
 
John Betancourt: So, I can hear the sheer joy the sheer in your voices over being able to do this. What did each of you enjoy the most about being able to work on Ted?
 
Max Burkholder: I mean, probably just getting to do just a straight up farce comedy, which I've never really been able to do before, as well doing it with Seth (MacFarlane), Giorgia, Scott (Grimes), Alanna (Ubach), just an absolute, A-tier team of people to like bounce stuff off of and like develop that sort of back and forth. It was… it was a pleasure going into work every day, no matter how early it was or how late I had to stay.
 
Giorgia Whigham: it was just I mean, the thing that I enjoyed the most, or one of the things is just how much we laughed and how… and it was also a challenge though, because I never really saw myself in doing too much comedy, honestly. And so, it was a good challenge for me to kind of find the humor in Blaire even though she's pretty serious and kind of naggy sometimes. And so, it was it was just the challenge of trying to balance that, but also try and keep a straight face because we were laughing all the time.
 
John Betancourt: Now, obviously, this is a this is a huge franchise, and I’m curious to hear each of your thoughts as to why Ted continues to endure.
 
Giorgia Whigham: Because it's so, you know, there's I just think it's a little bit ridiculous, the concept, but it's also very touching, you know, to have a toy that you loved as a kid come to life. And it's about friendship, and this season, you know, that we did… it's about family, in my opinion. It's about growing up, and then growing pains and but it's about like, love. So, I think not to be corny. But I think that that's a really nice aspect. And I think people can you know, see that when they watch it.
 
Max Burkholder: Yeah, I mean, I agree. It is about love. And it's about friendship. And also, it's about a talking teddy bear that smokes weed, does cocaine, and loves shitty 80s movies. I think that is inherently like funny and grabs you. But I mean, it is about love from the first scene, this boy loves a bear so hard, it comes alive. Like, that's the whole premise. That's what it's really about. And I'm glad that we got to do this because it just, it shows us a different point in their lives that I think is really special.
 
John Betancourt: Last question that I have for each of you today. What are you each most proud of when it comes to your time on this show?
 
Max Burkholder: I think just from the limited amount of the show that I've seen… it's really funny. I mean, there's nothing else to say, I think that really comes through. Like I said, I've never really had the opportunity to do straight comedy before. And I'm really proud of myself that that we were all able to deliver such a truly, truly funny product.
 
Giorgia Whigham: I think that I'm super proud of… you know, sometimes it's hard to, you know, it's always hard to watch yourself. But certain things I watch and I just I cringe, and I just can't because I am so uncomfortable with watching it. But this, I watched some of it, and I was like, “I think everybody did such a good job. And I'm proud of the work that everyone delivered,” including myself. So that's, you know, and that's kind of sometimes rare, biggest critic, but yeah, so I think everyone just did such a good job and it was so grounded but hilarious at the same time. was horrible.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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