In ‘Ted’ Season 2 Episode 5, ‘The Sword in the Stoned,’ an intriguing storyline unravels in the lives of the Bennetts. John’s father, Matty, has a long-established history of being a Republican with steadfast socio-political opinions. Naturally, given the show’s period setting in the 90s, his political alignment makes the family patriarch a staunch critic of the 42nd President, Bill Clinton. However, in an unexpected turn of events, Matty finds the chance to meet the Democratic President, who happens to stop by his new place of part-time employment: Dunkin’ Donuts. Notably, fans may notice that the politician’s on-screen depiction bears a striking resemblance to the real-life Bill Clinton, specifically as he was in his late 40s to early 50s. Naturally, this creates a sense of intrigue around the show’s on-screen version of the former President.
Seth MacFarlane Turned Himself Into Bill Clinton For Ted by Using AI
The brief cameo of Bill Clinton’s character in ‘Ted’ arrives as a fitting gag for Matty’s storyline. Rising concerns about finances compel the latter to get a second job at a Dunkin’ Donuts, which just so happens to be on the route for the President’s PR tour. As a result, John’s father decides to take the chance to give Bill Clinton a piece of his mind, and ends up getting chewed out by the politician in turn. The hyper-realistic portrayal of Clinton’s on-screen counterpart makes this storyline even more intriguing.
However, instead of particularly exceptional special effects or CGI, the show was able to achieve this realistic visual with the help of AI. The creator of the series, Seth MacFarlane, is known for his Bill Clinton impression on the animated show ‘Family Guy.’ As a result, the prospect of doing a live-action version of the impression was attractive for the creator. Initially, MacFarlane and his ‘Ted’ crew tried to make this idea possible with the use of prosthetics and CGI. Nonetheless, such approaches failed to produce satisfactory results.
For the same reason, MacFarlane eventually decided to give AI a try. He spoke about the same in a conversation with the Associated Press. He shared, “It’s an interesting example of how AI can be used as a tool and not necessarily trample on the art that the rest of the industry is doing. We tried prosthetics (to achieve a realistic Bill Clinton depiction), we tried traditional CGI, and everything just looked terrifying. So we just said, to hell with it, let’s try AI. It worked. It was the only way to look like Bill Clinton.”
Although the decision remains controversial, given many people’s unfavorable perception of AI, MacFarlane claims the decision was made in the service of the story. In order for the Bill Clinton gag to land, the creator wanted the on-screen counterpart to remain identical to the real political figure. Therefore, he was eager to ensure that underwhelming or bad CGI/special effects didn’t take away from the scene’s comedic value. “We don’t want them (the audience) going, what’s happening there with this guy’s (on-screen Bill Clinton’s) face? We want them focused on the writing and the jokes, and the tool that allowed us to do that was AI, in this case,” MacFarlane told The Hollywood Reporter.
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