Mark Wahlberg's BFF is a teddy bear in 'Ted'

By Randee Dawn

At first, Mark Wahlberg wasn't sure the movie "Ted" was a good fit for him. His character would have to play opposite a foul-mouthed, beer-loving teddy bear voiced by "Family Guy's" Seth MacFarlane.?

But as the Oscar-nominated Wahlberg told TODAY's David Gregory on Monday, reading the script definitely changed his mind. "When I first heard the concept, I wasn't really that excited about it. I said this is not for me, and then I read the script and 30 pages into it I forgot about the bear. It's just this really great relationship movie."

That said, the R-rated "Ted" is not for kids: Aside from the cursing and the drinking, Wahlberg revealed that he had one "physical altercation" in the film ... and it was with a 12-year-old boy.

"I punch this kid in the face in the movie, and he's a big Disney star -- he's on like one of these Disney shows that my kids watch," he?told Gregory.?"So I'm watching the show one day with my kids and said, 'Oh, my God, I punched him in the face!' And my daughter said, 'You better not! He's the nicest boy in the world!' and I said, 'Not in my movie.'"

Wahlberg has more going on than "Ted" these days; he confirmed that "Entourage" creator/writer Doug Ellin is writing a script?for an?"Entourage" movie. (Wahlberg was an executive producer on that HBO series, now ended) And as previously reported, Wahlberg is finally getting his high school degree, one course at a time.

"I wanted to do it for a long time," he said of furthering his education. "I don't want my kids saying, 'Well, Dad, if you didn't finish school, why do I have to?' I look at -- my daughter's in third grade and I look at her science and I don't know what it is, it could be in another language.... It felt like it was important."

"Ted" opens in theaters on June 29.?

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