Mortality and Muppets: A guide to the comedic work of Brett Goldstein

Fans of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso have grown to know and love Brett Goldstein’s Roy Kent. He’s the show’s gruff marshmallow core, all stubble and swears on the outside but wise and devoutly protective of the ones he loves, once you crack the surface.

In real life, Goldstein seems to be quick with a cuss like Roy, but also softer, sillier, and genuinely interested in other people. (He also loves The Muppets, but more on that later.)

All of those qualities have played out in Goldstein’s work over the years, not only as an actor, but also as a writer, producer, and even podcaster. Given that he’s got an almost 20-year career behind him, though, it can be tough to know where to dive into Goldstein’s career. Here’s our guide to some of his most charming highlights.

Films To Be Buried With

Goldstein’s weekly podcast since 2018, Films To Be Buried With is just that: Each episode, Goldstein invites on a celebrity guest and asks them to talk about not just the movies they adore but also their thoughts on life, mortality, and the meaning of whatever “this” is. Past guests have included Barry Jenkins, Ted Lasso season-two writer Ashley Nicole Black, Edgar Wright, and fellow podcaster Brene Brown.

Lone Island

A web series created out of pandemic lockdown-induced cabin fever, Lone Island stars Goldstein as “Bradley Pee,” a frequently shirtless airhead who’s gone on a Love Island-style reality show in search of love and/or sex. Unfortunately for him, the show kicked off just as the world locked down, so his options are rather limited. He has dalliances with a soccer ball named “Ball” and a Muppet-like puppet named “Buddy Gee,” but ultimately finds true love—or at least true interest—with a plant named “Plant.” There are sex parties, one-on-one dates, and window-washing along the way, and while none of it really makes much sense, it doesn’t really matter. The 12 episodes on YouTube each land at about two minutes long, and they’re a fun watch, if only to see Goldstein through another lens.

“Brett Goldstein Performs The Muppet Christmas Carol In Six Minutes”

An avid, almost fawningly adoring Muppet fan, Goldstein once told Esquire that his “ultimate goal is work with the Muppets,” saying “I do that, then I’m dead.” About five years ago, Goldstein channeled his Muppet fandom into a gloriously charming sped-up version of The Muppet Christmas Carol at a fundraiser for Parkinson’s U.K. A musical medley extravaganza with costume changes, crowd participation, and even a big snowy finale, the performance is sadly only available as a kind of iffy video on Goldstein’s YouTube page. Trust us, though: It’s worth it, especially if, in your heart, “it feels like Christmas.”

Hoff The Record

A British mockumentary series starring, of all people, David Hasselhoff, Hoff The Record finds Goldstein playing Hasselhoff’s personal trainer, Danny. He gets some good lines, wears a puffy vest, and makes fun of David Hasselhoff. It’s no Ted Lasso, but it’s also available to stream on Netflix in the U.S., while a lot of Goldstein’s other work isn’t, so if you’re a diehard, you might want to give it a shot.

SuperBob

A combination rom-com/superhero movie that’s both co-written by and starring Goldstein, SuperBob is a mildly amusing movie about Britain’s only mailman-turned-superhero and his quest for good old fashioned love. The effects aren’t Marvel-caliber, to be sure, and a lot of the scenarios will leave you rolling your eyes, but it’s got its sweet moments. Goldstein does solid work portraying Bob as a guy who’s neither incredibly smart nor incredibly suave, but who does have both the ability to fly and a genuine sense of human decency.

Soulmates

Created and written alongside Black Mirror scribe Will Bridges, Soulmates is Goldstein’s six-part sci-fi anthology. It’s not a slam-dunk, but the series—and in particular the first episode, which stars Succession’s Sarah Snook and High Fidelity’s Kingsley Ben-Adir—does ask some interesting questions about love, belonging, and all the societal pressures that make finding love and a sense of belonging feel so impossible. Goldstein doesn’t appear onscreen in the show, but, hey, he’s multi-faceted. He can let someone else do the acting for once.