Who Is Brett Goldstein? All About the Ted Lasso Star and Emmy Winner

Brett Goldstein made himself a household name as Roy Kent on Ted Lasso.

When season 3 of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso concluded in May 2023, it wasn’t without hope from Goldstein’s die-hard fans that the sports comedy series would give his character a happier ending.

“Because we never learned Roy Kent's full backstory, I keep creating scenarios,” one fan wrote on Twitter (now X). “The fact that Roy ended S3 without Keeley makes me so sad. … Ted Lasso, why won’t let him be happy? S4 please.”

Despite pleas from fans, Goldstein said season 3 would be its last. "We are writing it like that,” he told Sunday Times in June 2022. “It was planned as three [seasons]."

All hope may not be lost, though: Co-creator Jason Sudeikis avoided giving a direct answer in September 2022 on any rumors of a spinoff or fourth season.

Since the show premiered on Aug. 14, 2020, Goldstein’s on-screen persona — the irritable, now-retired football player Roy Kent, based on real-life Irish former footballer Roy Keane — has remained a constant favorite across the series’ three-season run.

But did you know Goldstein didn't begin his relationship with the hit comedy as an actor? The Emmy winner actually began as a writer on the show. In fact, he’s been writing and acting his own material for years.

To celebrate Goldstein — and his iconic character — here’s everything to know about the British star, from his relationship status to how he feels about tea.

Goldstein "always, always, always" knew he wanted to work in entertainment

"I wanted to be a stuntman first, and I used to pretend to be Indiana Jones and jump off roofs and slide under garage doors. I was 29 at the time," Goldstein told PEOPLE via email in 2021.

The actor, who occasionally performs his own stunts, said he started writing and performing his own plays and short films at a young age. He joined a theater company while studying film at the University of Warwick in England but also kept working on his own material.

Goldstein has also credited his short film SuperBob — a superhero rom-com that eventually became a feature — with opening doors for him in entertainment. "Ricky Gervais saw that," he told Awards Radar in May 2021. "And that is why I got brought in to audition for Derek. And then, once I did Derek, it was a bit easier."

Goldstein joined Ted Lasso as a writer first

Believe it or not, Goldstein was originally hired to write for Ted Lasso. However, his connection to Roy Kent as an actor inspired him to self-tape five scenes and submit an unsolicited audition — and one scene, in particular, may have landed him the role.

"My personal favourite is the scene where Roy is in the car park (parking lot) in episode 5 and is behind Keeley [Juno Temple] and accidentally scares her by her car. I think that may have been the one that sealed the deal," Goldstein told PEOPLE. "That or [co-creators Joe Kelley and Jason Sudeikis] couldn't be bothered to keep looking."

Goldstein dated Beth Rylance

Though he prefers to keep his personal life private, Goldstein's costar and fellow Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham told PEOPLE that Goldstein "has a girlfriend."

In September 2021, Goldstein confirmed his romance with comedian Beth Rylance.

He did so in a very public way by giving her a sweet shoutout at the Primetime Emmy Awards after winning the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series.

"I was very, very specifically told I'm not allowed to swear, so this speech is going to be f---ing short," Goldstein said while accepting the award for his role as Roy Kent on Ted Lasso, adding, "Beth, I love you."

He has a tight-knit, family bond with his Ted Lasso costars

When asked which cast member he is in touch with most frequently, Goldstein admitted to PEOPLE, "It’s a solid tie between them all, though Phil Dunster [Jamie Tartt] or Toheeb Jimoh [Sam Obisanya] might just about take the lead.”

“Ah no… Now the others are gonna be mad at me…" he added.

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Goldstein’s dad hoped he'd be a football player

"My dad is finally proud of me," Goldstein joked of his favorite family member's reaction to his Ted Lasso success. "He always wanted me to be a footballer. He is a football hooligan, a true obsessive, if I had been born on match day he would not have been at the hospital, so for me to be able to at least pretend to be a footballer, means I'm finally allowed home at Christmas."

Goldstein has a "surprisingly intimate" podcast about his love for movies

"My podcast, Films to be Buried With, [which has featured Ted Lasso cast members Waddingham, Dunster, Jimoh, Nick Mohammed, Brendan Hunt and season 2 writer Ashley Nicole Black, among others] is an interesting way of having a proper deep conversation with someone because although we are talking about films, we are really talking about their true feelings," he explained.

"When I ask, 'What's the film that scared you the most?' I'm really asking, 'What scares you the most?' It's always fascinating,” Goldstein added. “Film is a real good way to get deep with someone. It's also kind of unusual to really talk to someone for a solid hour or so.”

“It's surprisingly intimate. I've made it sound dirty now,” he joked. “I apologize."

Goldstein co-created the 2020 AMC sci-fi series Soulmates

Goldstein served as an executive producer and writer for AMC’s Soulmates, an anthology series about love that premiered on the network in October 2020.

Soulmates is set roughly 15 years in the future, where a genetic test can identify your soulmate for you versus dating and looking for love on your own. Speaking about the differences between Soulmates and Ted Lasso, Goldstein said, "One will make you happy [Ted Lasso], and one will make you question your relationships and love life [Soulmates]."

Soulmates, which was renewed for a second season months before its 2020 premiere, was canceled after one season in 2023.

Goldstein also co-created the 2023 Apple TV+ therapy comedy Shrinking

Co-created with Bill Lawrence (also a creator of Ted Lasso) and Shrinking’s star Jason Segel, Goldstein is a writer and executive producer for this series about a therapist (Segel) who is grieving the death of his wife and how that affects his personal and professional lives.

“For me, it’s always about the characters and the relationships,” Goldstein told Variety in 2023, citing the father/daughter story at the center of the series. “He has not been there for her, and as he’s coming back to himself, he’s trying to repair things."

The show features Harrison Ford as a mentor to Segel’s character and the head of the practice where several characters are therapists. Ford’s character has Parkinson’s, something Goldstein’s father also lives with.

Goldstein is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel fans know to stick around after a feature for mid- and end-credit scenes and filmgoers who stayed in their seats for those after Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) saw Goldstein pop up as Hercules, the son of Russell Crowe’s Zeus.

The role was so secretive, he didn’t even tell his parents he was in the film. 

Goldstein loves the Muppets

In early 2022, Goldstein appeared in an episode of Sesame Street in which Tamir helped him with that day’s word (an F-word ... fairness). He was also seen hanging out in Oscar’s trash can and playing hide-and-seek with Elmo.

Goldstein has been very public about his love of the Muppets, posting a video of himself doing a six-minute version of The Muppets Christmas Carol for a fundraiser for Parkinson’s UK. In December 2022, he sat down with the Muppet stars of that same film to celebrate its 30th anniversary. In the interview for Entertainment Weekly, he pitched a Muppets Pride and Prejudice starring himself as Mr. Darcy and Miss Piggy as Elizabeth Bennet.

Does Goldstein prefer tea or coffee?

"Coffee," he told PEOPLE. "I'm with Ted [Lasso] on this. I don't get tea either."

Biscuits or cookies?

"Cookies. Or biscuits. I'm not gonna be mad at either one," he said.