If you were surprised to see Roy Kent himself Brett Goldstein make an appearance in the post-credit scene of Thor: Love and Thunder, then you wouldn’t be the only one. With the Marvel movie now released in theaters worldwide, the Ted Lasso actor is beginning to reveal details about his surprise casting, including that he was given just two weeks to bulk up for the role.
Like the rest of us, Goldstein’s casting as Hercules came as a shock to him. He was contacted out of the blue for the role in a last-minute Zoom meeting with the film’s producers set up by his management. Goldstein detailed the process in his recent interview with The Playlist saying; “They turn around, and they reveal, ‘It’s Hercules; it’s you.’ And I went, ‘What?’ Just like, ‘Are you serious? Are you fucking with me? Is this a wind-up?’ So yeah, it was as surprising to me as I think it has been to other people.”
Amid his surprising selection to play the Greek god, Goldstein revealed how he was immediately hit with the fact that he didn’t have the athletic build to match up with the role of Hercules. He shared his concerns with Love and Thunder director, Taika Watiti who told him he had two weeks to get to training. “Yeah, when I spoke to Taika, I said, ‘You know I’m basically like a skinny comedian?’ I said, ‘When is this filming?’ It was like in two weeks, and I was like, ‘I mean, I’ll do my best, but two weeks feels …’ I said, ‘He doesn’t have to be as big as Thor, does he?,'” Goldstein said. Goldstein shared how he immediately got to work his body even on the day of filming, adding; “And look, on the day, I mean, I’m doing 400 pushups that day. I was fit to explode. I did the best I could on that day.”
So far, Marvel is yet to reveal additional details regarding Goldstein’s MCU future. However, Goldstein has said that he is open to reprising the Greek god should the franchise come knocking on his door for future projects. “Who knows if anything will come of it, who knows, but it was a fun thing to do, and I’m pleased that people seem to have enjoyed it,” he said. Goldstein is also ready to go even harder to get the body befitting for Hercules joking that he would “eat 30 chickens a day from now on” to stay fit.
Brett Goldstein is better recognized for his role in the critically acclaimed AppleTV+ sports drama series Ted Lasso for which he recently received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. It would be his second Emmy win as he already scooped the award last year for the same role as Roy Kent. Ted Lasso has aired for two seasons with a third season currently filming. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available to stream on AppleTV+.
