At a special event put on by Variety last week at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center for the Apple TV + Season 3 screening of “Ted Lasso.” Hannah Waddingham, who plays Rebecca Welton, the owner of the AFC Richmond soccer team, along with Jason Sudeikis who plays Ted Lasso joined fellow cast members Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Toheeb Jimoh, Cristo Fernández and Kola Bokinni for a lively discussion about what to expect next for our favorite footballers.

Sudeikis spoke about the inception of the Ted Lasso character, which he originally portrayed for a series of NBC Sports promos for England’s Premier League in 2013. The actor created the character and show with Joe Kelly and Hunt, who also stars as Lasso’s right-hand man, Coach Beard, and revealed his now infamous facial hair was inspired by a real-life figure. “The reason I had the mustache was Mike Ditka, the Chicago Bears coach, and in the original commercial I wore little polyester shorts,” he said. “It was all Ditka in this look.”  

(Click on image to Enlarge)

Later in the interview it was revealed that some of the initial thinking about the tone of the show suggested early on that Lasso be more of a yeller and screamer – not the upbeat optimist he’s become known for. Hunt referred to this version of the character as the “hair dryer treatment.” Elaborated Sudeikis, “When a coach yells so much that your hair blows back, that’s the term.”

Instead, “Ted Lasso” became known for his positive outlook, while not shying away from his struggles with panic attacks and mental health issues. But Sudeikis says for the most part, Lasso’s unrelenting optimism has a positive effect on him. “He’s a Weeble Wobble. He’d get knocked over, he’d pop back up and just kind of like, whatever, la-di-da. And it does shape your mindset, and it is pervasive,” said Sudeikis.

Archive: Apple TV News