Donny (Ted)



"You're mine, Ted!"

- Donny obsessed with Ted

Donny is the hidden main antagonist of Ted. He is Robert's father who desperately wants Ted to give to his son.

Beginnings
Donny came from a lower-class background. His mother had presumably left him with his father, who had one-night stands in front of him. When he saw Ted on TV one night, he immediately liked him and wanted one of his own. However, when he asked his father (who was making out with a woman on the couch) if he could have him, he refused since he had already given him a present: A rake. After his father tells him to go rake the leaves outside, Donny felt heartbroken and took one last glance at the TV screen of young Ted before reluctantly leaving.

When Robert was born, a grown-up Donny vowed to be the best father ever and let his son have anything he wants — including Ted.

In Ted
Donny is first introduced in a positive way. He approaches John and Ted in the park with his son Robert. Donny had remembered Ted from an interview he had years ago, where the host kept on saying anti-semiotic jokes because he thought Ted was ALF. He offers to buy Ted from John for Robert, but he refuses and he's a little insulted by Robert's actions towards Ted.

Later, Donny's true nature begins to take a darker form when he appears outside of the grocery store Ted works and asks Ted why he's alone. Ted pretends that he isn't alone and that Christ is with him. Sooner or later, Ted leaves with Tami-Lynn.

Finally, Donny and Robert kidnap Ted and take him to their old house, which is also their secret hideout. There, Donny's obsession with Ted comes into full circle. On the walls are hundreds of tapped magazine cut-outs of Ted as a kid and an adult. When Donny tells Ted he belongs to Robert now and that the former must do as the latter says, Ted rudely criticizes his getting away with kidnapping and says the "F" word when sarcastically complimenting this example, but Donny yells loudly at him for swearing, scaring his son (but apologizes to the latter for this). Donny reveals that when he was young, he asked his dad for a talking teddy bear, but he said no; it was then that he swore that if he ever had a son, he'd never say no to his son again. He also showed Ted a basement full of destroyed teddy bears that he had used to fill Ted's place, only to realize eventually that none of them were real enough.

Donny sends Ted and Robert upstairs to play whilst he goes downstairs to dance in private. After Robert violently rips Ted's ear off, he says that like his father, he needed to be punished, suggesting that his father abuses him. Ted tricks Robert into playing hide-and-seek with him and he sneaks downstairs to call John. He tells John who took him and that he thinks Donny and Robert may be lovers, but the phone is quickly disconnected by Donny.

Donny and Robert take Ted (whom they'd put in a big bag) into the trunk of the car to go somewhere. It is then that John and Lori smash into the back of Donny's car, breaking the back window and allowing Ted to escape, but during so, his stomach is ripped a bit. Ted runs into a nearby building and he's pursued by Donny. As Robert runs at John and Lori demanding "his" teddy bear back, John punches Robert in the nose and knocks him out (to Lori's shock), saying that he deserved it. Donny catches up with Ted into the building, which, in terms, is Fenway Park. Ted crawls up a stadium, but he's stopped by Donny who offers him love, rocking horses, and dancing, but of course, Ted refuses, telling Donny they're far apart from it. Donny quickly grabs him and throws him onto the field, ripping him in half by accident and draining the magic from him, killing him. Immediately, Donny runs away from a passing police car before Ted is brought back to life by Lori, wishing her life back.

In the end, Patrick Stewart reveals that Donny was arrested for theft of a teddy bear, but he was soon released when the police realized how completely stupid that sounded.

Personality
Donny is an obsessive, violent stalker. He can't accept when things don't go his way and he was apparently stuck in a child-like emotional state.

He dislikes profanity, usually responding with a scream or violence; at times, he'll simply say not to swear.

Donny also likes to drink and dance to Tiffany's song "I Think We're Alone Now."

When Robert was born, Donny promised himself to never say no to him and be the greatest father Robert could ever have.

His neglectful upbringing most likely contributed to his current mental state.

Since he had no wife, Ted assumed that Robert might also be his lover (though this, of course, isn't true).

Appearance
Coming soon!

Trivia

 * Donny is the second villain to dislike profanity, the first being Annie Wilkes. Donny is, however, the first not to subvert this, as near the end of Misery, Annie does say a swear word.