See Ted Lasso’s Grouch Hanging Out In Garbage With Oscar The Grouch

In each photo, the Ted Lasso star seems genuinely tickled to be on the set and interacting with these absolute icons of childhood education and entertainment.

By Tyler Pisapia | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

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Bret Goldstein, better known to Ted Lasso fans as the ever-grumpy Roy Kent, proved he really is here, there and every f—ing where by teasing an upcoming appearance on Sesame Street. The Ted Lasso actor and stand-up comedian was featured in a 16-second teaser for his upcoming run on the show in which a jovial Big Bird is singing while walking down the street. As he passes by the inhabitants of two trash cans, he asks them if they agree that it’s a beautiful day out before mozying down the street. That’s when Bret Goldstein and Oscar the Grouch turn to each other before grunting and shaking their heads “no” before retreating back into their respective cans. 

The collaboration between the always hard-tempered Roy Kent actor and Oscar the Grouch is absolutely perfect and spot-on for the show. For those unfamiliar, on Ted Lasso, Roy Kent is a veteran professional football player who prides himself on his emotional distance. While he’s rude and offputting to the people around him, he’s still got a heart of gold and spends most of his time reluctantly participating in his new coach’s feel-good antics. His co-star, Juno Temple, compared their on-screen relationship to that of the story of Beauty and the Beast, to which he noted that Roy Kent is a “progressive Beast.” 

Regardless, the character is a perfect buddy for Oscar the Grouch, who spends most of his time operating at the same level of emotional distance from his fellow neighbors on Sesame Street. In reposting the clip on his own Twitter, Goldstein referred to the puppet as a “kindred spirit.” However, while he plays a grump in Ted Lasso and, now, Sesame Street, the reality is that nothing could be further from the actual personality of Bret Goldstein. 

One needs only to listen to a moment of the Ted Lasso star’s podcast to immediately be struck by what his real voice sounds like. Gone is the grit and gravel of Roy Kent, replaced with the soft, inquisitive and welcoming tones of Bret Goldstein as he asks his guests a series of questions about their life through the filter of the movies that shaped them. Each episode has him politely and almost sheepishly inform his guests that they’ve died and that they now need to pick a movie for everyone in the afterlife to watch once with them.

Bret Goldstein dropped the gruff persona when he posted about his time on a future episode of Sesame Street on Instagram. He shared a series of images of himself on the set chatting with a bevy of familiar faces like Oscar the Grouch, The Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie, Big Bird and more. In each photo, the Ted Lasso star seems genuinely tickled to be on the set and interacting with these absolute icons of childhood education and entertainment. He captioned the images by noting that the experience marks “the best day” of his life and “more wonderful than I could have imagined.” 

Fear not, though, Bret Goldstein will be back in the saddle on Ted Lasso as the typical angry Roy Kent when the show returns for Season 3. Unfortunately, series co-creator Brendan Hunt (better known as Coach Beard), recently explained to TVLine that the start of filming on Season 3 has been delayed due to a “football wrinkle.” While he didn’t elaborate, it seems getting the actors on the field to shoot football scenes has proven difficult this year.