Jason Sudeikis’ affable football coach on the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” would have behaved very differently if not for Donald Trump.
While speaking with The Guardian, Sudeikis opened up about Ted Lasso’s early origins. He revealed that the character o was initially conceptualized to be much more “belligerent”, but observing Trump’s behavior forced a change.
“That was the culture we lived in,” Sudeikis said. “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 has unlocked in people.
He goes on to explain that he “didn’t want to portray” Lasso as he was originally conceived: “I hated that people didn’t listen to each other. Things have become 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 to add anything to this.’
Ahead of the third-season premiere of “Ted Lasso,” Sudeikis and his fellow cast members visited the White House to discuss “the importance of mental health in promoting overall well-being.”
“I’ve been in a fake Oval Office many times,” Sudeikis said of his visit to the White House. “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’s 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 this house happened to be the White House for that afternoon.
Season 3 of “Ted Lasso” debuted on Apple TV+ on March 15, with no official announcement of a fourth season yet revealed.