Jason Sudeikis Reveals How Ted Lasso's Optimism And Kindness Were Inspired By Donald Trump's Golden Escalator Ride In 2015 And Presidential Run
Actor Jason Sudeikis revealed at the weekend how his comic creation of Ted Lasso was given his trademark kindness.
It came in 2015 when Sudeikis was wondering where to go with his career and whether to resurrect the American transplant he had portrayed in short skits two year earlier.
The first incarnation was more 'belligerent,' the actor said. But times were changing.
'It was the culture we were living in,' Sudeikis told the Guardian.
'I'm not terribly active online and it even affected me. Then you have Donald Trump coming down the escalator.
'I was like, 'OK, this is silly,' and then what he unlocked in people… I hated how people weren't listening to one another.
Actor Jason Sudeikis revealed at the weekend how his comic creation of Ted Lasso was given his trademark kindness
'Things became very binary and I don't think that's the way 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 to this.'
'Yeah, I just didn't want to portray it.'
Any cynicism was removed from the Apple+ character. And the result was a warm, naive coach recruited from college football to take charge of the English soccer team Richmond AFC.
The audiences in the U.S. and intrigued viewers in the U.K.
The show is reaching the end of its third season, which Sudeikis insists is the final season, although he is not ruling out spinoffs.
He said he hoped it had a lasting legacy.
'Richmond is, metaphorically, like a form of utopia,' he said. 'And yet it has to honour the fact that not everywhere else outside that utopia is utopian. And so, how would you deal with these conflicts?
'From back in 2015, when we were first thinking: "What is this thing?" I just knew inside that this guy was real. He's complicated. He's not perfect. He's going through stuff. But this is who he is. He actually is nice.'
Lasso's battles with mental health even saw the cast invited to the White House. Other members of the cast said they were freaking out but Sudeikis took it in his stride.
Trump announced his 2016 campaign after riding down the golden elevator at Trump Tower in 2015. Sudeikis said that was when he realized he wanted to make Lasso kinder
'I'd been in a fake Oval Office a number of times,' said Sudeikis, 'and so there's a little bit of me that's nonplussed by it and just holding my shit together.
'And I'd 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 that home just happened to be the White House for that afternoon.'
Comments
Post a Comment