Recently, Mark Wahlberg, star of the upcoming "Transformers: Age of Extinction" and new face of the franchise, next to Optimus Prime of course, spoke with the Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex to discuss how he prepared to work opposite a computer-generated character.

He said he got his first taste of acting alongside a CGI figure within his role in the 2012 comedy "Ted," where he worked with not only Mila Kunis, but a stuffed teddy bear voiced by the film's writer and director Seth MacFarlane as well.

"'Ted' was definitely a good warm up," Wahlberg said. "With 'Ted,' it was a more intimate setting. But this movie is much bigger and more intense."

Wahlberg added that the problem actors face when making these types of movies is the fear of looking absurd because while on-screen it looks like the actor is having a normal conversation with the character, behind the scenes they're talking to the wind.

"You've got eight Autobots talking to you at the same time. There's nothing but a pole or a stick really there," he admitted. "You've got to believe and totally commit. The most difficult part of acting is when you look ridiculous and have to confront the risk of looking foolish. You've got to be on the whole time. You can't phone it in."

According to the Times, the Transformers franchise, which starred Shia LaBeouf as the lead role, raked in nearly $3 billion worldwide.

LaBeouf, who played Sam Witwicky alongside Megan Fox's character Mikaela Banes in the first two films and then Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as new girlfriend Carly in the third installment, exited the franchise following 2011's "Dark of the Moon."

Wahlberg is now expected to lead the charge in a new trilogy for the Transformers franchise with long-time director Michael Bay at the helm.

But the 42-year-old Boston native told the Times that he prefers that fans of the films think of "Extinction" as its own film and not necessarily part of the established franchise.

"Some people think of this as a sequel," he said. "We thought of it more as a stand-alone thing. I've never done a sequel."

After filming the recent "Transformers" installment for almost six months around the nation and then Hong Kong, Wahlberg underwent a transformation of his own, losing 60 pounds from his 197-pound figure in order to star as the lead in Rupert Wyatt's remake of "The Gambler."

"I had to come back for some pick-up shots," Wahlberg said. "So when Bay saw me, he freaked. He was used to seeing me on the healthier side. But here I am skinny with long, stringy hair. He was like, 'You can't look like that!'"

"Transformers: Age of Extinction" arrives in theaters June 27.