Interview by Roman Portnoy
Photography by Ryan West
Max Burkholder was born on November 1, 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for The Purge, Daddy Day Care, and Parenthood. He can currently be seen starring in the breakout hit “Ted” on the Peacock network.
Welcome Max and congratulations on the release of the “Ted” prequel series on Peacock. In “Ted”, you play a starring role opposite a stuffed teddy bear voiced by Seth McFarlane. How challenging was it to have a stuffed bear as a scene partner?
It certainly was a challenge! Though only for the first few weeks. When you’re shooting with the bear it’s just empty space, and it took a while to get used to acting opposite nothing. After a while though you start to be able to sort of “see” him there, weirdly and it all works out.
Did you walk around your house with a teddy bear to prepare for this role?
Very insightful. That is literally exactly what I did. Production sent all the main cast members life-sized Ted dolls before we even started shooting. They told us to talk to him, bring him around with us, and just sort of get used to his physicality in three dimensions. I did exactly as told and brought him out drinking with me which was a blast. I knew people liked the character, but I didn’t realize just how popular he was until I had him out in public.
What was it like playing a character made famous by Mark Wahlberg in the movie versions of “Ted”? Did you try and learn some of his mannerisms from the two installments?
Well, it was definitely a blast! I rewatched both Ted movies ad nauseum, both to get a feel for the timing as well as Mark’s accent. I wanted to be careful not to do an impression of him or a direct 1:1 interpretation of the character but having all of that data to draw from was certainly helpful.
Both your parents are former actors and you’ve been acting since the age of five. How did you initially get involved in acting, and what motivated you to pursue It at such a young age?
So, my first job was in Daddy Day Care, which I started shooting when I was three years old. I had no idea what was going on, I just knew that I was having fun playing around with a bunch of other kids every day! Once I got a little older and started to put things together, I was having just as much fun with it if not more so. It remains my favorite thing in the world to do, so I just keep doing it!
From your early roles to now starring in the main role on “Ted”, how do you feel your approach to acting has evolved over the years?
I think my appreciation of nuance and story structure have certainly grown, which is of course very important and helpful, but I would say my “process” hasn’t changed at all. From a really young age I worked with who I believe was the greatest acting coach to ever live, Harry Mastrogeorge. Part of his philosophy on acting is that it should be simple (if not easy). It’s exactly one step—pretending you’re someone else in a different place, under different circumstances. Everything that goes into it is in service of making that one step less and less difficult. A big part of what I learned from him was that you have to go into it like a child on a playground playing pretend, and I’ve always kept that close to my heart.
Looking ahead, are there any specific roles or genres you would like to explore in your future projects?
I want to do everything! Drama, comedy, horror, all of it. Every single part is so different and I wanna do it all. Recently I’ve been thinking that I’d love to play some sort of villain, and I’d love to be involved in more fantasy and sci-fi stuff as well. I also fell in love with theater in college and would jump at the chance to do that professionally.
Balancing acting, and personal life can be challenging. How do you maintain that balance, especially considering you’ve been in the industry for such a significant part of your life?
It’s easy and difficult at the same time. I think previously in my life it was a lot more difficult, having to deal with school and work simultaneously. One of my favorite things about this career is how much downtime I get, and my least favorite is how unpredictable the schedule can be. I think I find plenty of time in my life to do the things I love with the people I love, but especially after last year’s strike, I’m hungry to get back to work.
Who are some actors or directors you look up to and how have they influenced your career?
There are people whose performances make you walk away saying “wow, that actor gave an incredible performance”. Then there are people who make you forget they’re acting and make you forget that what you’re watching isn’t reality. The former is amazing, but the latter is what I really strive for – with varying degrees of success. Some examples are Elizabeth Moss, Octavia Spencer, Bryan Cranston, Kieran Culkin, and the list goes on and on.
Which actor or director do you aspire to work with in the future?
I’m a huge, massive, ultra-fan of The West Wing. I would be lucky and honored to be able to work with any of them (and to do something written by Aaron Sorkin for that matter). To add on to my answer regarding future projects, I might as well go ahead and out myself as the massive dweeb that I know myself to be I am a huge fan of the actual-play TTRPG scene (tabletop role-playing games) and would kill or die to be invited along into it or participate in some way.
What TV show are you currently binge-watching?
I just finished binging the Formula 1 documentary on Netflix and it’s my new favorite sport. At the current moment I’m in the middle of a rewatch of The Punisher and absolutely loving it again (this is probably my fifth time watching it). John Bernthal is a legend and I’m so jealous my costar Giorgia got to work with him in the second season.
If you weren’t acting, what job would you most likely be interested in pursuing?
For a while I had dreams of becoming an astronaut, but I think what I really had my heart set on for a long time when I was younger was to be a veterinarian or a therapist. Having a strong sense of empathy is something I really value in myself and others. I think it really helps me a lot in acting, but also would serve me well in either of those other professions!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
