“If this is our fault, I’m furious" — When Brett Goldstein made his feelings clear about the Ted Lasso influence on Arsenal’s title race

Brett Goldstein is a British actor, writer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian and television writer before venturing into acting and directing.

Goldstein is best known for his memorable portrayal of Roy Kent in the television series Ted Lasso (2020-present), a role that earned him two Primetime Emmy Awards. The show was recently renewed for a fourth season. Initially part of the writing team, Goldstein landed the role of Roy Kent after he sent in an audition tape on a whim.

Loosely based on former Manchester United legend Roy Keane, the character of Roy Kent became a fan favorite. In an interview with GQ published on March 6, 2023, Goldstein revealed that he knew Keane had watched Ted Lasso, as had Mikel Arteta, the coach of Arsenal FC.

This was rather stressful for Brett Goldstein, a Tottenham Hotspur fan, especially since Arsenal was leading the Premier League at the time of the interview. He believed that the show might have inspired Tottenham's bitter London rivals, Arsenal, to their dominance in the league at the time. He joked in the interview:

"If this is our fault, I’m furious."

He continued:

"Now Arsenal are really good and that’s bummed me out...He’s telling them all to believe and they are believing…"

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Brett Goldstein on anger, vulnerability, and repressing his emotions

Goldstein at Film Independent's Live Read Of Edward Berger's "Conclave" in February 2025 (Image via Getty)

Bill Lawrence, the co-creator of Ted Lasso, originally recruited Goldstein on board as a writer. Naturally, Lawrence was quite surprised when Goldstein was cast as Roy Kent since the actor and the character had completely contrasting personalities.

However, this was not how Brett Goldstein saw things. In the same GQ interview mentioned earlier, he stated that he could relate to Kent's character, who was quite emotionally repressed.

Now in his mid-40s, the actor revealed that, much like his character on the show, he was unable to be vulnerable—especially in relationships. He admitted to perceiving vulnerability as something that would make his partner leave. He claimed that this thought might have risen out of stubborn, old-school masculinity, rather than how he was brought up.

Brett Goldstein further reflected on how these preconceived notions of masculinity would often make him want to act a certain way, even if his heart was not in it. Speaking of this dilemma, he said:

“Everything is complicated, because on some level I’m an absolute lad. The vulnerability thing is a forever struggle.”

Another point on which he related to Kent's character was anger. When asked whether he was an angry person, he replied:

"I definitely have it… I repress it, and you know what? Hey, maybe I'm not as angry as I once was, I suppose. I’m probably much better, done a lot of therapy. I probably push it down, push it down, push it down ’til you get cancer and die."

Goldstein also spoke about filming Ted Lasso during the COVID-19 pandemic, which considerably slowed down the shooting process. There is no question, however, that his portrayal of Roy Kent changed his life. When asked whether this made him anxious about what was next, he answered:

“We’ve been in this bubble that was so wonderful and you worry you won’t experience something like that again. It’s a once-in-a-million-lifetimes thing and I’m very lucky that we had it. And I guess if this is the end, I’m glad we didn’t leave when we were sick of it. So it remains this kind of perfect dream.”

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Brett Goldstein will reprise his role as Roy Kent in season 4 of Ted Lasso, confirmed in March 2025. Seasons 1-3 are now streaming on Apple TV+.