Graham Norton’s Worst Guest Ruined the Show

As far as talk shows go, The Graham Norton Show is one of the best out there. From Graham Norton’s impeccable hosting skills, to the wide range of guests, there’s never a dull moment. But there have been some awkward ones. One guest in particular even threw Graham Norton completely off of his game and ruined the episode for everyone involved. Unfortunately, that guest was none other than Mark Wahlberg.

Before Mark Wahlberg’s appearance on the show, Graham Norton shared his thoughts on who his worst guests were, with actor Robert De Niro being one of them. He reasoned that this person was just a really difficult person to interview since he doesn’t do interviews often and doesn’t like to do them. He isn’t a storyteller either, which is what The Graham Norton Show thrives on. Norton recalled a time when De Niro began telling a story only to drag on and on and stop partway through, leading to his team cutting the part altogether. But luckily for De Niro, Mark Wahlberg swept in and took the heat off of him, being a truly terrible guest. Norton’s reasoning for disliking Marky-Mark has nothing to do with his storytelling abilities or his enthusiasm for interviews but rather his enthusiasm for the bottle and, apparently, sleep.

Mark Wahlberg Fell Asleep Mid-Interview With Graham Norton

The Graham Norton Show is famous for its ensemble interviews, which usually result in hilarious stories being told and often a little chaos as well. But in the case of Mark Wahlberg, things just went too far. In the interview, Wahlberg is joined on the couch by Sarah Silverman and Michael Fassbender, and though things start out fine, it becomes a total mess. Wahlberg begins by talking about his upcoming movie and how he’s a producer, but when it came time for the other guests to speak, a noticeably drunk Wahlberg just couldn’t keep quiet.

He repeatedly interrupted Sarah Silverman’s story, even going as far as moving an inch or so down the couch to grab her attention until he just got up and sat on Norton’s lap. You can hear Norton telling him to get back on the couch, but Wahlberg doesn’t budge. He proceeded to hug Norton and stroke his chest, all while Norton sat and laughed uncomfortably. Then Wahlberg picks up an unused microphone and hands it to Silverman for literally no reason, further derailing her story, Norton tells Wahlberg to just sit down on the couch and let Silverman finish her story.

When Michael Fassbender begins telling a story later on, though, Wahlberg is surprisingly silent, which is a shock to everyone since he was so rowdy the entire show. In an interview with This Morning, Graham Norton shared that Wahlberg actually fell asleep during the story and that’s why he’s so quiet during it.

“We couldn’t get any stories going, and then Michael Fassbender was on, and he was getting this story away. And I was like, ‘Wow, this must be a good story,’ because Mark Wahlberg’s letting him tell it. And then I looked at Mark Wahlberg and he was asleep… we didn’t wake him, we were delighted.”

In fact, his producer Graham Stuart was the one who ended up waking Wahlberg up and the show even feared they might not be able to release the episode. “We’ve never been in a situation where we thought we can’t put that show out. We never let that happen,” Stuart explained in an interview with Metro.

The Rules Have Changed on ‘The Graham Norton Show’

Despite his rather embarrassing appearance on the show, Mark Wahlberg has returned multiple times since, but the show has been irrevocably changed. Since the show is so bubbly and fun, many have accused Graham Norton and his crew of getting guests drunk during the interview to inspire juicy stories and, in turn, boost ratings. But Graham Norton squashed that rumor.

“A lot of people think we try to get our guests drunk, but we really don’t. There is a drink waiting for them out there if they want it, but the most you can really have is two or three drinks, tops. If you want to be drunk – and clearly some people do – you’ve got to arrive pre-liquored.”

While liquid courage certainly adds to the level of hilarity that ensues on Graham Norton’s show, it’s more so the chemistry between guests that truly matters. If the guests don’t mesh or get along well, then the interview just isn’t going to be as successful as others. These are all celebrities running in similar circles who likely know of one another, so it’s easy to assume they’ll all get on well. But that isn’t always the case, and, unfortunately, adding alcohol to those kinds of situations usually only derails it instead of aiding it; such was the case with Mark Wahlberg.

Watch episodes of Graham Norton on BBC America in the U.S.

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