Brett Goldstein faces life after ‘Ted Lasso’

It’s a story he’s told many times. But personally, it’s different as the gentle guy in the fitted black t-shirt tells how he felt a bone-deep connection with the irascible Roy. The face is essentially the same, but the eyes are too friendly and the voice is soft and lovely where Roy’s is a choppy growl.

“I understand that this would confuse you,” Goldstein said, placing his coffee cup neatly on the saucer. “But I have a lot to do with the anger. I used to be very, very unhappy and had a pretty dark brain and I’ve worked very hard to change that. But it is there.”

Lawrence said, “Of any show I’ve ever done, Brett is one of the top two people when it comes to how different he is from his character.” (The other: Ken Jenkins, the friendly actor who appears in “Scrubs” played the caustic Dr. Kelso.)

In a way, the connection between actor and character is clear. For one, both are hardworking curses, and Goldstein lives by the chant that defines his famous alter ego: He’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere.

Colleagues and friends are stunned by how much he does. While filming the first season of Lasso, he also flew to Madrid to film Soulmates, the sci-fi anthology series he created with Will Bridges. During filming for Season 3, he acted in “Lasso” during the day and participated in video calls in the writer’s room of “Shrinking” at night. He found time to interview comics, actors, filmmakers and friends for his long-running film podcast, “Movies to bury.” He regularly squeezed into standup sets.

“I’m not sure when he sleeps,” Dunster said. “But I know he can do it because he looks so young.”

Goldstein said his workaholism predated his newfound Hollywood influence. “Even when I was doing stuff nobody saw, I was always working,” he said. “Either I have a mental illness, or that’s really what gives me purpose and makes me happy.”