Fans of Roy Kent may have been taken aback to see Brett Goldstein, who played the character in the film, appear in the movie’s post-credit sequence, Thor: Love and Thunder. Since the Marvel film is now out in theatres across the world, the actor who plays Ted Lasso is opening up about his unexpected casting, including the fact that he had only two weeks to bulk up for the part. Goldstein, like the rest of us, was taken aback when he learned he would be playing Hercules.
A last-minute Zoom meeting with the film’s producers was set up by his management, and he was approached out of the blue for the part. In a recent interview, Goldstein described the procedure as follows: “They turn around, and they reveal, ‘It’s Hercules; it’s you.'” …and I was like, “What?” And I mean, “Are you serious? What the hell are you trying to pull over me? Someone could ask, “Is this a wind-up?” So yes, I was just as shocked as everyone else, I guess. Despite being taken aback by his casting as the Greek deity, Goldstein said that he felt an immediate disconnect between his physique and that of Hercules.
The director of Love and Thunder, Taika Watiti, heard his worries and gave him two weeks to report for training. “Indeed, I mentioned to Taika, “You know I’m basically like a thin comedian?” To which they replied, “When is this filming?” I was thinking, “I mean, I’ll try my best, but two weeks feels…” since it was in what seemed like two weeks. He need not be as massive as Thor, I argued.” To quote Goldstein: Goldstein said how, on the day of filming, he jumped right into a workout, adding; “And, you know, on that day, I’m going to do 400 pushups. By that point, I was a time bomb waiting to go off. On that day, I did all in my power.” Marvel has not shared any new information on Goldstein’s future in the MCU as of yet. Goldstein, though, has stated that he would be willing to reprise the role of the Greek deity in future instalments of the franchise. What the future holds is anyone’s guess, but it was a fun thing to do, and I’m glad people seemed to appreciate it, he added. Goldstein has stated that he is prepared to “eat 30 chickens a day from now on” to maintain a body appropriate for Hercules.
Brett Goldstein got a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as “The Kid” on AppleTV+’s critically praised sports drama series Ted Lasso. If he were to win an Emmy for his performance as Roy Kent, it would be his second time doing so. The third season of Ted Lasso is presently in production. Both seasons 1 and 2 may be seen right now on AppleTV+.