Jason Sudeikis explained why his titular character in Ted Lasso wears those specific sunglasses. The inaugural season of the Apple TV+ comedy premiered in August of 2020 and quickly became a hit, garnering a number of award nominations, including SAG and Golden Globe wins for its lead star, who is also a front-runner in the Emmy race. The fledgling streaming service has now positioned the comedy as one of its flagship series. Ted Lasso was renewed for season 2 just days after its premiere and a third season was ordered after the season 1 finale aired to record-breaking numbers for Apple TV+.
Based on a series of TV spots Sudeikis did for NBC's coverage of Premier League football, the Apple TV series follows the titular Ted Lasso, a former American football coach who is unexpectedly hired to manage a struggling professional soccer team. This decision is made by another one of the series' standout stars, Hannah Waddingham, who plays the owner of the English Premier League team, AFC Richmond. As the perpetually positive coach at the center of a heart-warming comedy, Ted Lasso quickly became a beloved figure in popular culture. A few signature aspects of his appearance include his thick mustache and his Aviator sunglasses.
With Ted Lasso's season 2 premiere coming up next month, July 23, its promotional campaign is in full swing. For an edition of Variety's Actors on Actors series, Jason Sudeikis appeared opposite WandaVision's Kathryn Hahn to discuss their respective series. Sudeikis says Ted Lasso's positive outlook on life is represented all the way down to his orange-tinted glasses, which he chose for the character because they "make greens greener and blues bluer." The Ted Lasso star also talked about the unusual impetus for his character and the show's point of view, magic mushrooms. Read Sudeiksis' full quote below:
Even down to the glasses that I picked as the character. They make greens greener and blues bluer. That’s an element of why I continue to wear those orange-tinted glasses as the character. I haven’t done them in years, but a big impetus for the character and for the point of view of the show is magic mushrooms. Because both Brendan and Joe and I all lived in Amsterdam for various points of our life doing Boom Chicago, which was started by three Northwestern alums. And they were legal at that point. Michael Pollan had this amazing book, “How to Change Your Mind.” It’s profound the way things are used to treat depression and PTSD. We had spent so much time seeing complicated men, giving them so much leeway and grace — from Tony Soprano to “Breaking Bad.” To play someone that only saw the best in people? Don Scardino directed a bunch of “30 Rocks” when I was a guest star. I remember him saying a phrase: “You got to ride the horse in the direction it’s facing.” And it makes total sense, knowing what I know now.
Ted Lasso wears rose-tinted glasses, literally and figuratively, and Sudeikis says he made this choice completely intentionally. He previously likened the experience of playing Ted Lasso to wearing BluBlockers, which are well-known as an infomercial phenomenon from the 1980s. In a similar fashion, the world appears much more vibrant through Ted Lasso's point of view.
Ted Lasso's unrelenting positivity will surely be tested throughout the second season. Marketing materials seem to indicate that his club will be demoted to a lower league and will endure a season of turmoil as their losing streak continues. But based on the trailer for season 2, it seems that Ted Lasso's rose-tinted glasses will help him approach this adversity with all the hope and optimism he is known for.
Source: Variety