Graham Norton has been a TV presenter for 30 years and has hosted numerous chat shows, naming the ‘worst’ celebrity guests he has ever interviewed
Graham Norton has named his worst ever celebrity guest(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/So Television/PA Media/Matt Crossick)
TV presenters are used to sitting down with people from every corner of life, but it’s fair to say that some guests are considerably more enjoyable than others.
While many celebrities are an absolute pleasure to host, it’s hardly unusual to come across ‘diva’ behaviour from stars who make the whole experience rather testing.
Given that Graham Norton has been fronting television programmes for 30 years, having made his major breakthrough in 1996, he has encountered and interviewed a vast number of famous faces throughout his career.
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As the presenter approaches his 63rd birthday on Saturday (April 4), we take a closer look at the celebrities he found most ‘difficult’ to sit down with – including the star who takes the top spot as his ‘worst’ ever interview.
Mark Wahlberg
Norton, originally from Dublin, Ireland, has officially named Mark Wahlberg as his “worst-ever” guest. During a 2013 appearance on BBC’s The Graham Norton Show, Wahlberg arrived sober but became heavily intoxicated roughly 15 minutes into the programme.
He repeatedly interrupted fellow guests Michael Fassbender and Sarah Silverman, perched himself on Norton’s lap, and eventually nodded off on the sofa while Fassbender was mid-story, reports the Mirror.
Norton told The Mirror: “The famous (worst guest) was Mark Wahlberg, I guess. He was fine when he came on the show.
“There was not a hint of it and then about 20 minutes into the show (alcohol) caught up with him. Oh it was bad.
“At one point Mark was asleep on the couch in front of the audience.” He expanded on his nightmarish encounter with Wahlberg at Henley Literary Festival 2025 on 10 October, telling the audience: “If you ever see a drunk person on the show, it’s because they’ve arrived drunk – we have not made that happen.
“Mark Wahlberg was a weird one because when he arrived, he didn’t seem drunk. 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.”
Norton disclosed that Michael Fassbender and Sarah Silverman were equally frustrated by Wahlberg’s conduct, explaining: “No one could tell a story. You tried to tell a story, he’d just interrupt and, at one stage, Michael Fassbender was telling a story and this one was 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.”
Robert De Niro
Alongside Wahlberg, the television presenter also described fellow actor Robert De Niro as a “benign presence” who was simply a terrible raconteur. One anecdote was so drawn-out and rambling that De Niro ultimately asked, “Why am I telling this?” before the entire segment was cut from the transmission.
Kevin Costner Norton has also previously described US actor Kevin Costner as “snooty” and discourteous.
He told The Express: “I ask him a question and he looks at me like ‘Jesus, do I have to talk to this man?’ He kind of gives a half-a*** answer and Helen Mirren chips in and asks him a question and he could not be happier.”
Mickey Rourke
Actor and professional boxer Mickey Rourke was labelled “exhausting” and a “nightmare” by Norton.
The star allegedly arrived clutching a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels and repeatedly lit cigarettes throughout filming.
Norton told the New Zealand Herald: “Mickey Rourke he was just exhausting because he wanted to smoke all the time. I’d turn away for a second, turn back and he’d have lit another cigarette.
“It was so boring – you feel like a teacher taking children on a school trip, not a chat show host.”
David Cassidy
Norton also recalled interviewing 1970s pop icon David Cassidy as one of the most unpleasant experiences of his career, characterising the late singer as “bitter and weird” throughout their encounter.
During an appearance on This Morning, Norton discussed the uncomfortable Cassidy interview with presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford.
Norton elaborated on why the meeting was so disagreeable, saying: “I loved him when I was a teenager, and then you meet him, and he’s so bitter and weird… not a happy time… I think David hates that he was David Cassidy.”