Steven Prusakowski
Since day one, Ted Lasso fans have been wondering just who the laid back Coach Beard really is. Sure he’s the assistant coach for AFC Richmond – that we do know. He has also been known to drop in witty comments or add his unique and well-read perspectives to just about any situation. But, besides a few revealing moments over the life of the series Coach Beard remains an enigma. I recently spoke with the man who brings Coach Beard to life; the actor, co-writer and co-creator of Ted Lasso, Brendan Hunt.
During our conversation, I did pry into Beard’s backstory and came back with very few answers. My pursuit to better understand the character did not come up empty though. In addition to providing some fascinating insights to the mysterious coach and the series as a whole, Hunt also tiptoed around some promising info about what to expect from the series going forward. More specifically, a Coach Beard/Ted Lasso backstory. He also made the revelation that this just may not be the end of the Ted Lasso-verse.
Hunt also talks about the origin of the series, which Ted Lasso character he relates to most, breaks down the Amsterdam episode, explains his similarities with Coach Beard, discusses his appreciation for the actual town Richmond and much more. Ted Lasso is winding down its (final?) 12-episode season with episode nine released today and new episodes dropping every Wednesday, exclusively on Apple TV+.
Here’s my interview with Brendan Hunt.
Steven Prusakowski:
So let’s start at the very beginning. I know it’s part of TV history at this point. But not everybody knows the origin story of Ted Lasso and you were a very big part of it all. Can you tell me a little bit about how it began? Also, why do you think it blew up into this beloved global hit?
Brendan Hunt:
Well, I don’t think there’s any answer to the latter, but to the former. Jason (Sudeikis) got asked by NBC to do an ad campaign for NBC Sports, a new deal broadcasting the Premier League, which was a big and historic deal in sports media circles. He asked if he could bring anybody he wanted onto it. So he brought me and Joe Kelly and we did it on a bit of a lark. We got to go to London for three whole days. And it was great fun. It went well enough that they wanted us to come back the next year. So we did it. This time we stayed in The States filming but, we kind of found a slightly different version of the character. The original character was very bombastic, kind of like a sketch character really of a, you know, the Ugly American. You know, rootin’ tootin’ American football coach who knows nothing about soccer, and is suddenly a coach of a big English soccer team. The second version, he was more like, “Gosh, I sure miss England.” A little more introspective.’ Now he’s coaching eight year old girls, and he cares about their feelings. After doing it the second time all three of us were like, “Okay, there’s something here, this is fun. Let’s find a way to keep doing this”.
We broke up a season, we brought up the model of the original Office, six episodes, six episodes and a special. We broke a season, we wrote a pilot, and then nothing happened for four years. Jason kept having kids and Joe was plenty busy. I was baking on a rock, waiting for something to happen. And then one day, Bill Lawrence comes into the picture. And then things move very, very quickly – we had a proper TV show.
And now, you know, I’m maybe, maybe getting towards the end of this crazy journey. We don’t know for sure we’re gonna get to the end of this part of it, at least. But they started 10 years ago from rather, if not auspicious beginnings, at least rather slight beginnings. And in terms of how we got to this point, no fucking clue. I never could have imagined all the stuff that’s happened as a result of this show. Nor the way people have reacted to it. I mean, we were chosen by a streaming service that didn’t exist. And, and I just got back from London again, we took that first gig just so we could be in London for three days. Now, I spent the better half of the last three years of my life in London. And there’s just no, no way at all we ever could have seen any of this coming.
Steven Prusakowski:
You mentioned that you’re not sure if this is the end of Ted Lasso. I had read that it was recently announced that this season was officially the end of the series. So, as of maybe 40 seconds ago, I was convinced you were closing the book on Ted Lasso. It’s amazing with only weeks left, there does not seem to be a definitive answer.
Brendan Hunt:
It’s because we don’t know, we truly don’t – we’re still in it, you know? And yeah, we always did see it as this three part thing. And we’re coming to the end of that third part. So this season is written as an ending of this part of the journey for sure. But you know, whether we can pick up the baton a little bit later, remains to be seen. Nothing, nothing has been ruled out just yet. The only thing we know for sure is that until we finish this, until it’s done being broadcasted and promoted and all the things we got to do between now and September, we are not thinking about what’s next at all. No matter how much people ask, we still just are not there yet. And we’re going to let the thing settle and simmer. We’re going to take a break from seeing each other’s faces for a while and then eventually we will reconvene and figure out what, if anything, will happen next, but everything is on the table.
Steven Prusakowski:
That’s great! I’ll keep my fingers crossed. One thing we don’t ever get into very much is Coach Beard’s past. He is kind of this enigma. We don’t really know much about him. Little pieces here and there. Do you have a backstory for him?
Brendan Hunt:
Sure, I do have a backstory… but I’m afraid I cannot share it with you. As that would be tiptoeing dangerously close to a spoiler. You see, we see a few more things about beard coming up in these last few episodes.
Steven Prusakowski:
That’s exciting. Well, then this is probably tiptoeing also, we also don’t know the Coach Beard and Ted origin story. Is that something that we’ll be seeing? You can tiptoe around it or not.
Brendan Hunt:
I cannot say. I cannot say. But I will say that this question and the previous question are intertwined.
Steven Prusakowski:
I guess I’m pretty good at asking questions that don’t have answers. It’s good, though. I’m getting a little more information than expected. You’re also a writer on the series. I believe you wrote the episode “Sunflowers,” right?
Brendan Hunt:
No, it was based on my teleplay. The episodes, you know, it’s a writers room, it’s a collaboration. We’re all we’re all putting our piece in on all of them. It’s just someone has to go away eventually and type and sort of take the lead on it. So to that end did I write it? Sure, I guess. But all of these episodes are a group effort.
Steven Prusakowski:
Well, you lived in Amsterdam for five years of your life. Did you draw a lot from your experiences for that episode?
Brendan Hunt:
Yes. I not only got a lot about Amsterdam personally, but I saw a lot of other people get a lot out of Amsterdam in different ways. So, hopefully, I’ve had a slightly deeper understanding than people who just go there for a bachelor party weekend. That episode tries to honor some of the experience that the outsider can have if they really kind of surrender to Amsterdam. Ted goes on a creative journey. Higgins goes on a journey of pursuing his passion and being rewarded for it. Phil, Roy, and Jamie go on a journey just of togetherness, basically. Colin and Trent go on a journey through gay Amsterdam, which is very much a thing. So yeah, it is kind of like deconstructing. Oh yeah, and Rebecca has a romantic journey. Sunflowers is a sort of a distillation of the many things you can discover in Amsterdam, if you allow yourself to get lost.
Steven Prusakowski:
I really enjoyed it. That’s the thing with the series is every episode, especially this last season, has a different feel to it, but as go you through it, we’re exploring the characters in a much deeper way than you would if we just stayed on the soccer field.
Brendan Hunt:
It’s context though too. The reason why we’re able to get into some stuff in Episode Six is because of where they are after five. After those first five episodes, they’ve already had highs and lows, and now you know that they have the almost a good fortune of arriving in Amsterdam, at a time at a low time. Amsterdam has a way of helping you out there. So that’s why we have so much to explore with these characters is because of where they are at that time.
Steven Prusakowski:
That’s great. How much of Coach Beard do you see in yourself? And a followup, is he the character you relate to the most on the series?
Brendan Hunt:
I might relate to Nate a little bit more because I find the Nate journey to be something that can happen to a lot of us. If you don’t have your shit together, but you are offered some rewards of life, but you haven’t dealt with your stuff, it can, your stuff can come out. Your stuff can come out and come out in a bad way. I think I find that to be perhaps the most cautionary tale we have on the show. Having said that, yeah, there’s a lot of me in Beard, for sure. We both have been around the world a little bit. We both have been involved in some pursuits that perhaps were not great, long term end game pursuits. But, you know, Ronal letting life pull us along in whatever way it’s gonna go has gotten us at least a little bit far.
Steven Prusakowski:
You co-wrote the finale and the pilot. You’re book ending this journey that started years ago – you planted the seed that grew into Ted Lasso you watched it grows and millions of people enjoy the fruit of your labor. Now it’s, at least this chapter, is coming to an end. How does it feel?
Brendan Hunt:
I’m wondering if when we’re actually done with this season, you know, I’ll sort of have a better sense of being able to characterize or contextualize it as an experience because it’s been so full on since day one of the season one writers room. Between the writing and then the acting and shooting and then the post (production) and then the promoting – the promoting for heaven’s sake! It’s going to be interesting, not having Ted Lasso as a 24 hour day pursuit, one way or another. It’s gonna be strange, but probably for the best.
Steven Prusakowski:
Why do you think people like Coach Beard so much? What’s his draw?
Brendan Hunt:
I think his loyalty is probably number one. I mean, what happened? What phone call did he get? Like, “Hey, man, you want to move to England mate?” “Oh, are we doing something we’re good?” “No, we’re doing something we know nothing about.” “Okay, yeah, I’ll be there.” In a manner of speaking he’s kind of just there wholly for Ted and has none of Nate’s aspirations that can be so traitorous – not just another person, but to yourself. He is in the moment and he is content in that moment. That can be very appealing.
Steven Prusakowski:
You have a comedy background, as well as improv. With Ted Lasso you’re a writer, but obviously, also an actor on the show. Going forward after Ted Lasso do you think you can be content only acting or you always need to have your hands beyond that?
Brendan Hunt:
It depends on the thing. Golly, like if I should be in a Mike Schur (creator of The Good Place and Parks and Recreation) joint, but I don’t need me to be writing anything. “Like, “You got it. You got it Mike! I’m just gonna stand here and say whatever you need me to say.” I’m actually quite looking forward to being in something that I have very little say. There’s something kind of liberating about, you know, you show up, you’re a cog in someone else’s wheel, you do what they need you to do, you trust that that’s right and then you head home. Now, can I do that forever? No, probably not. I do enjoy the concurrent acts of creation and maintenance and the sort of coming together as a unit behind the scenes that has to make that happen. It’s a very fulfilling experience. So it need not exclusively be that for the rest of my life, but I would like some more of that, please. Yes.
Steven Prusakowski:
Besides the team behind it, the cast, and the crew, is there something you’re going to miss most about working on the series, when this season ends?
Brendan Hunt:
Yes, I lived in a different place each season, me and my family. For season three, I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna live in Richmond this time – get a piece of that.’ And Richmond is fucking great. It is lovely. It’s gorgeous. It’s got just enough city things to feel like you’re really still in London, even though you’re technically still in London. It’s one of those places where, when the weather is good, the park is full, the pubs are full. But I find Richmond Green in particular to be – I mean, it’s so simple, it’s just grass. It’s just grass with houses around it, but I find it to be really really enchanting. I will forever cherish the time I got to spend there.
Steven Prusakowski:
That’s wonderful. It makes you definitely want to go visit. It looks so beautiful on the show. Before which, I didn’t know it existed, and now it’s on my to do list. Final question. It’s a doubleheader. Three words to describe coach beard and three words to describe the season. Season Finale.
Brendan Hunt:
Hirsute, taciturn and if I can go hyphenated stealthily-psychedelic. And three words to describe the season, football, catharsis and impermanence.
Steven Prusakowski:
Those were perfect. Thank you so much. I am looking forward to seeing the final few episodes. Congratulations on all of the last three seasons and will be curious to see where this goes.
Brendan Hunt:
Thank you.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
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