In a blurring of the line between reality and fiction, the British actor who plays the sweary but lovable character Roy Kent in the hit show Ted Lasso had part of his acceptance speech muted at the Emmy awards.
Brett Goldstein scored best supporting actor in a comedy series for the second year in a row, seeing off competition from two of his co-stars among others, and for the second year in a row lapsed into profanity in his speech.
He told the audience at the ceremony in Los Angeles: “Last time I was here I was told not to swear and I did and I’m sorry but it meant the feed got cut back home in the UK so my family never got to hear me say this. So thank you for this second chance.”
With his microphone muted, he went on: “Mum, Dad, Tara, I fucking love you, I really do.” He was then heard to say: “I’m so sorry, thank you very much.”
Goldstein has acquired cult status for playing the retired football player turned coach Roy Kent in the hugely popular Apple TV+ show, which won best comedy series. Jason Sudeikis, the show’s creator and star, won best lead actor in a comedy series.
Ted Lasso centres on an eponymous American football college team coach who moves to England to coach a struggling Premier League football team. His relentless optimism and charm, combined with ignorance about the game and his adoptive country, has won the show acclaim and popularity on both sides of the Atlantic.
The first series, which premiered in 2020, was nominated for 20 Emmys and won seven, and the second series was also nominated for 20.
Goldstein, who was born in Sutton, Surrey, and studied film at Warwick University, was hired as a writer by the Ted Lasso team. But after feeling a strong connection to the character of Roy Kent, he submitted unsolicited audition tapes for the part.
The third and reputedly final series of Ted Lasso is in production and is expected to be released at the end of this year or in early 2023.
But in comments to reporters after Monday’s awards ceremony, Goldstein sparked speculation that series three may not be the last.
“The plan is entirely in Jason’s [Sudeikis] hands. I know all of us would happily do this for 20 years. And then say maybe we need to wrap this up, because these footballers are all on crutches.
“It’s entirely up to Jason. We’ve been writing this as if it’s the end, but it might not be. But I really don’t know.”
• This article was amended on 14 September because before moving to England, the character of Ted Lasso was a coach for an American football college team, not the NFL as an earlier version said.
