Jason Sudeikis reveals how Ted Lasso’s optimism and kindness were inspired by Donald Trump’s golden escalator in 2015 and the presidential race
Jason Sudeikis said the first incarnation of Ted Lasso was ‘belligerent’
But he revisited the character and made a kinder, more upbeat version of him.
“It was the culture we lived in,” he said in an interview with The Guardian.
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Actor Jason Sudeikis revealed this weekend how his comedic creation of Ted Lasso received his signature cuteness.
It happened in 2015 when Sudeikis wondered where to go with his career and whether to resurrect the American transplant he had portrayed in short sketches two years earlier.
The first incarnation was more “belligerent,” the actor said. But times were changing.
“That was the culture we lived in,” Sudeikis said. the Guardian.
“I’m not very active online and it even affected me. Then you have Donald Trump coming down the escalator.
“I was like, ‘OK, that’s silly,’ and then what he unlocked in people…I hated how people weren’t listening to each other.
Actor Jason Sudeikis revealed this weekend how his comic creation of Ted Lasso received his trademark kindness
Trump announced his 2016 campaign after riding down the golden elevator in Trump Tower in 2015. Sudeikis said that was when he realized he wanted to make Lasso nicer.
“Things got very binary and I don’t think that’s how the world works. And, as a new parent – we had our son Otis in 2014 – it was like, ‘Boy, I don’t want anything add to that.’
“Yeah, I just didn’t want to represent him.”
All cynicism has been removed from the Apple+ persona. And the result was a warm, naive coach recruited from college football to take charge of English football team Richmond AFC.
Audiences in the US and intrigued viewers in the UK
The show is coming to the end of its third season, which Sudeikis says is the final season, though he wouldn’t rule out spinoffs.
He said he hoped it would leave a lasting legacy.
“Richmond is, metaphorically, like a form of utopia,” he said. “And yet, he must honor the fact that it is not everywhere else that this utopia is utopian. And then, how would you manage these conflicts?
“Since 2015, when we first thought, ‘What the hell is this?’ I just knew inside that this guy was real. He’s complicated. He’s not perfect. He goes through stuff. But that’s who he is. He’s actually nice.
Lasso’s battles with sanity even saw the cast guest at the White House. Other cast members said they were freaking out, but Sudeikis took it in stride.
Sudeikis in the briefing room in March when the cast visited the White House
“I’ve been in a fake Oval Office many times,” Sudeikis said, “and so there’s a bit of me that’s confused by it and just holding my shit together.
“And I had met the president when he was vice-president and he is a very warm guy. It’s like meeting your good friend’s father or your young friend’s grandfather.
“He just makes you feel at home and that house happened to be the White House that afternoon.”