Graham Norton has interviewed hundreds of high profile, A-list celebs over nearly two decades of The Graham Norton Show, which first premiered in 2007. And while some celebrities are obviously better guests than others, the 62-year-old recently revealed one who was apparently “hell” to interview.
The chat host made his comments during an appearance at the Henley Literary Festival 2025 on Friday, Oct. 10, per The Independent. “If you ever see a drunk person on the show, it’s because they’ve arrived drunk,” he quipped.
“Mark Wahlberg was a weird one because when he arrived, he didn’t seem drunk,” Norton explained. “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 hell was in his system really took hold—and it was hell.”
The episode he was referring to aired on Feb. 8, 2013, and also featured Sarah Silverman and Michael Fassbender. At the time, Walhberg was promoting his 2013 crime thriller Broken City. Apparently, none of the other guests could get a word in due to the Boston native’s erratic behavior.
“No one could tell a story. You tried to tell a story, he’d just interrupt,” Norton continued. “At one stage, Michael Fassbender was telling a story and this one as going quite well. 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.”
He then reiterated that the producers of the show don’t intentionally get guests drunk, despite rumors to the contrary.
“We really don’t,” he added. “There’ll be a drink waiting for you if you want one and then, while we’re showing a clip or getting the track ready, they might be able to rush in and leading you up, but the most you can have is two, three tops. So if anyone does want to appear on the show and be drunk, my tip to you would be pre-load.”
For his part, Wahlberg later denied that he had been intoxicated during his appearance, claiming that it was a bit that he had prepared in advance. In addition to his frequent interruptions, with Silverman in particular, the 54-year-old also mocked playing with his nipples and at one point sat on the host’s lap.
“I tried to do a bit, and some people took it a little too seriously,” he told Digital Spy in August 2013.
In either case, the episode still lives on the internet, so you can judge for yourself here.
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