Ted is directed and stars Seth MacFarlane, one of the leads of Family Guy, so it is no surprise the two share many of the same actors. Ted was first released in 2012 and follows the crude titular bear who befriends Mark Wahlberg’s John Bennet who wishes he could bring his childhood teddy to life. As John grows up, his relationship with Ted becomes a problem as he tries to navigate relationships and adulthood. MacFarlane’s feature directorial debut was a big success and Ted grossed $549.4 million from its $50-65 million budget with a sequel following in 2015, and a Ted prequel in the works.
Ted is not MacFarlane’s first successful venture in the screen industry as he is the creator behind the animated sitcom Family Guy. Premiering in 1999, Family Guy has been so successful that it has spanned 21 seasons with new seasons still being created. Family Guy follows the dysfunctional Griffin family whose voices may be very recognizable to audiences. With MacFarlane being at the head of both Family Guy and Ted, it is unsurprising that both share many of the same actors, even just in cameos. Family Guy’s actors are not seen so it is surprising how many of them do appear in Ted.
13 Seth McFarlane
Not only was MacFarlane the director of Ted, he also voiced the titular character and co-wrote the movie. MacFarlane is no stranger to voice acting and was successful in his portrayal of the crude bear. In Family Guy, MacFarlane voices multiple characters with the most famous being Peter Griffin and Stewie Griffin. MacFarlane also voices Quagmire and Tom Tucker. MacFarlane’s voice of Peter Griffin sounds the most like Ted and is the most obvious link to MacFarlane playing both. MacFarlane’s success with both Ted and Family Guy is still ongoing as new continuations of each are in development.
12 Alex Borstein
Alex Borstein is an American actress who is best known for her role as Lois Griffin in Family Guy. Borstein has voiced Lois since Family Guy’s conception meaning she has been a long-time colleague of MacFarlane’s, and Borstein also won a Primetime Emmy Award for her role. Borstein reunites with MacFarlane in Ted and she plays John’s (Wahlberg) mom. Borstein’s character gifted John with Ted when he was a child which would later turn out to be the magical bear, Ted.
11 Mila Kunis
A more well-known connection between Ted and Family Guy is Mila Kunis. Mila Kunis is Lori in Ted, John’s girlfriend who struggles with Ted’s interference in their life. Lori is waiting on a proposal throughout Ted and blames Ted for the wait. Kunis also voices the hated Meg Griffin in Family Guy. Meg Griffin was originally voiced by Lacey Chabert until Kunis joined in season 2, episode 3, “Da Boom” and Meg’s voice was slowly transitioned into Kunis’. Kunis has been Meg ever since.
10 Patrick Warburton
Patrick Warburton is another who appears in both Ted and Family Guy. Warburton stars as Guy in Ted, one of John’s co-workers who is in a relationship with Rick. Guy is a minor character in Ted but his role is expanded in Ted 2 when he becomes a supporting antagonist. Warburton voices Joe Swanson in Family Guy who is a major character and one of Peter Griffin’s best friends. Swanson is a police officer and one of his major character traits is his anger problems.
9 Patrick Stewart
A surprising link between Ted and Family Guy is that Sir Patrick Stewart appears in both. Although never seen, Stewart has a major role in Ted as he is the narrator and the first voice heard when watching Ted. His role in Family Guy is much smaller and he cameos as Captain Picard in a Star Trek special. Stewart also voices himself in Family Guy. Stewart has a third tie to Family Guy as he is the voice that Susie Swanson hears in her head.
8 Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman stars alongside Borstein in Ted as John’s Dad and they share a hilarious scene when Ted first walks into the kitchen of their house, showing he is alive. Ralph Garman is specifically a voice actor so he takes on a huge number of roles in Family Guy. The most famous of these is Jeffrey Fecalman but he notably has voiced Larry, Agent Jenkins, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gene Rayburn, and Jeff Foxworthy. Garman also voices more minor roles in Family Guy which are credited as Waiter, Cab Driver, Bowling Alley Dad, and many more.
7 Jessica Stroup
Jessica Stroup’s roles in both Ted and Family Guy are much smaller. Stroup played Tracey in Ted who is one of Lori’s coworkers. Lori often asks Tracey for advice about her situation with John and Ted, as well as Tracey and Lori sharing a mutual dislike for their boss. Stroup voices Denise in Family Guy who is not a recurring character but has a major role in “Tiegs for Two”. Brian meets Denise when picking up Peter from the police station and takes an interest in her but poor advice causes his advancements to backfire.
6 John Viener
John Viener plays Alix in Ted which is a small role as one of John’s co-workers. Viener has played some one-off roles in Family Guy such as the transitioned Meg Griffin and the completely sober version of Peter Griffin. However, Viener’s biggest role in Family Guy was as Tomik, a recurring character who is meant to be foreign but has lived in the USA long enough to sound American.
5 Mike Henry
Mike Henry has a smaller role in Ted and plays the Southern Newscaster. This role matches many of the stereotypes of a newscaster. In Family Guy, Henry voices multiple characters including Herbert, Bruce, Consuela, and the Greased-up Deaf Guy. Up until 2021, Henry controversially voiced Cleveland Brown. Cleveland Brown is a black character and Henry is white which caused backlash due to many negative stereotypes used for this role. Henry stepped down from voicing Cleveland Brown and the role is now fulfilled by Arif Zahir.
4 Danny Smith
Danny Smith plays a very minor role in Ted and is only credited as Waiter. Smith is barely seen but he is another strong connection to Family Guy. As well as producing and co-writing Family Guy, Danny Smith voices Al Harrington, Buzz Killington, Ernie the Giant Chicken, and The Finger Monkey. Smith has been a part of Family Guy since it was first created so it is understandable that his long working career with MacFarlane would lead to a cameo in Ted.
3 Chris Cox
Danny Smith was not the only Family Guy star to get a cameo in Ted. Chris Cox takes on the role of Guy #2 in Ted who encourages Guy #1 to allow Ted to stab a knife between his fingers as a game. Chris Cox may have a small role in Ted but he has a big role in Family Guy as Ross Fishman. Ross Fishman is one of Lois’ old boyfriends who causes issues in Lois and Peter’s marriage.
2 Rachael McFarlane
Rachael MacFarlane does not appear in Ted but in Ted 2 as Meighan’s assistant. Again, this is a small cameo role whose presence does not have much influence on the story. However, MacFarlane’s role is another nod to the Family Guy connection as she also voices multiple roles in this. MacFarlane, the sister of Seth, voices Miss Tammy, Olivia Fuller, Tracey Flannigan, and Jeremey the Terminally Ill Boy. MacFarlane also voiced Meg for the pilot episode before the role went to Chabert, and then Kunis.
1 Alec Sulkin
Alec Sulkin has many connections to Ted but he only plays a small role. In the Star Wars scene, Sulkin plays Obi-Wan who is a guy in cosplay. Sulkin’s main connection to Ted is that he co-wrote it alongside MacFarlane and Wellesley Wild. Sulkin’s main role in Family Guy is voicing Jesus Christ but he also is credited with a large number of minor roles. These include Waiter, Audience Member #1, Big Chin Guy, and Blind Guy to name a few. Sulkin’s connection to Family Guy unsurprisingly means MacFarlane trusted him to write and cameo in Ted, like many of their other colleagues.