‘It’s only downhill from here’: Seth MacFarlane on making the most of fear and insecurity

“My thought is always, ‘It’s only downhill from here.’ That’s how I’ve always operated, ever since I began Family Guy. I had the crippling fear that I used up all the funny last week. That crippling insecurity really drives you to do your best. … Your moments of pure joy are few and far between, but they do exist.”
— Seth MacFarlane

The creator and driving force behind Family Guy and other projects, not to mention the voice of Stewie, Peter and other characters, Seth MacFarlane made this comment in 2012 when he was being interviewed at an industry forum in West Hollywood around the time he hosted the Oscars that year.

Surely that kind of gig would be a feather in any entertainer’s cap. I find it remarkable that MacFarlane, with a bevy of talents, is dealing with insecurity that can feel threatening.

This is, of course, not unusual. Mental health issues are prevalent with many people, regardless of their accomplishments. Yet, through the years, deep-rooted insecurity has been an element of the creative process for many writers, artists and performers.

I just finished the audiobook of Anthony Hopkins’s memoir We Did OK, Kid, the title of which is what he would say to an insecure boy growing up decades ago in Wales. As a child, his parents were there to remind him constantly he would not amount to anything, and until a pivotal “I’ll show you all” moment in his teens, he believed them — and still did, years later.

There’s a remarkable scene during the pre-production of Oliver Stone’s Nixon, when the actors gather for a simple table read, and Hopkins can only hear the negative voices in his own head. Remember: at this stage, Hopkins had won Best Actor at the Academy Awards, and had been stellar in films like Howards End and The Remains of the Day. He was one of the best-known actors in the world, and yet, he felt he did not belong.

Insecurity is a powerful thing.

For MacFarlane, insecurity is also a driver for creativity. I’m sure the feelings of dread are unpleasant, but he continues to create. His series Ted (about a grown man and his foul-mouthed teddy bear, and based on the film of the same name) is getting a lot of applause as perhaps his best show.

MacFarlane can also sing rather well. For some years, he has had a moonlighting career as a crooner; his most recent album uses arrangements worked out decades ago for Frank Sinatra.

I get a kick when he also sings for laughs, including this 2010s appearance on Graham Norton’s lighthearted talk show in Britain; in this scene, he’s put on the spot to do in-character karaoke next to fellow guest Cyndi Lauper.