In the entertainment industry, every job is your last job. It’s a mindset that Brett Goldstein carried with him throughout the early stages of his career, working consistently as a writer, actor, and podcaster, but also working internationally with Apple TV+’s hit series Ted Lasso. Even now that he has achieved such fame, he still feels the need to push himself as hard as he can.
“I’ve always been like this, working on 12 things at once,” Goldstein said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “But it took years before anyone saw what I worked on. There’s a window here, but I don’t know how long that window will be open. I’d love to take advantage of it before it closes. I really love it too. So why don’t I do it all, other than maybe get some sleep and have an emotional life? I can say this as a joke, but I also mean it. One of the great things about being a workaholic is that you don’t have time to stop and be sad.
But one of his latest projects, the mental health drama “Shrinking,” is about just that. The series was co-created with “Ted Lasso” co-creators Bill Lawrence and Jason Segel. They both felt it was important to include Goldstein not only as a creative partner, but also as a performer.
“Bill was trying to get me to at least have a cameo, something interesting,” Goldstein said. “Then when we were writing this character for Season 2 and trying to cast it, Jason brought me and Bill to the trailer and said, ‘Why doesn’t Brett play this role?’ is”.
For this role, rather than relying solely on Goldstein’s bombastic, gruff sense of humor, Lawrence ventures into more dramatic territory, something he was initially unsure about.
“Bill was like, ‘I don’t know.’ But he called me the next morning and said something very sincere,” Goldstein told THR. “He said, ‘I think you’re a real artist. If you think you can do it, I’ll support you.’ It was scary, but hey, let’s do it. If it’s scary. Whatever you do, you should do it.”
As for his plans to return for the official Ted Lasso season 4, Goldstein said he had no idea what to expect and was just as surprised as everyone else when he heard the series was starting.
“I really don’t know anything,” he said. “The plan will soon be put into action, but so far the plan has not been put into action.”
“Shrinking” season 2 will premiere on Apple TV+ on October 16th.
