ENTERTAINMENTMark Wahlberg Arrived 'Drunk' and Fell Asleep on Graham Norton's Talk Show, TV Star Recalls: 'It Was H---'
Graham Norton recalled a 2013 episode of 'The Graham Norton Show,' where his guest Mark Wahlberg arrived to the set 'drunk' before falling asleep on stage.
Oct. 13 2025, Published 5:51 p.m. ET
Graham Norton didn’t hold back when he recalled a disastrous day on set with Mark Wahlberg.
“If you ever see a drunk person on the show, it’s because they’ve arrived drunk – we have not made that happen,” Norton, 62, told a news outlet during the Henley Literary Festival 2025 on Friday, October 10.
Mark Wahlberg Appeared on 'The Graham Norton Show' in 2013
Mark Wahlberg appeared on 'The Graham Norton Show' in 2013.
Graham appeared to be referring to a 2013 episode of The Graham Norton Show that also featured Sarah Silverman and Michael Fassbender.
The talk show host explained that his encounter with the Ted actor, 54, struck him as “odd,” as when Wahlberg first arrived on set, he “didn’t seem drunk.”
Mark Wahlberg Was 'Drunk' on 'The Graham Norton Show'
Graham Norton recounted a disastrous experience with Mark Wahlberg.
“He told me about his film, told me a couple of stories about stunts going wrong or whatever, and then it was only 15 minutes into the show when whatever the h--- was in his system really took hold – and it was h---,” Norton recounted. “At one stage, Michael Fassbender was telling a story … he was really getting into the heart of the anecdote. I thought, ‘This one is going well – I wonder why,’ and I looked over at Mark Wahlberg and he was asleep. So yeah, we don’t encourage that.”
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Graham Norton Debunked Rumors That Producers Pressure Guests to Drink
Graham Norton addressed rumors that producers of his show entice guests to get 'drunk' on the show.
Norton debunked rumors involving The Graham Norton Show producers, explaining that if guests want to drink on set, they have to “pre-load.”
“There’ll be a drink waiting for you if you want one and then, while we’re showing a clip or getting the music ready, they might be able to rush in and top you up, but the most you can have is two, three tops,” he added.
Mark Wahlberg Addressed Controversial Interview
Mark Wahlberg addressed his appearance on 'The Graham Norton Show' months later.
Wahlberg famously addressed the talk show appearance months later in an interview with Digital Spy. “I tried to do a bit, and some people took it a little too seriously,” Wahlberg said, claiming the antics were pre-planned with Silverman, 54.
Norton responded to Wahlberg’s comment, telling the outlet that despite the incident, the Departed star was a “really lovely guy.”
“We’ve all done that thing where you suddenly realize, ‘I’m by far the drunkest person at this dinner party’ and you don’t know how that happened,” he stated. “It was a bit like that, so I don’t judge him harshly at all. It was just a thing.”
