Whoever coined the adage “never meet your heroes” never met Jason Sudeikis.
In an editorial for Uproxx titled “Yeah, Jason Sudeikis Is Actually Kind Of Like Ted Lasso In Real Life,” senior entertainment writer Mike Ryan recounts how he opened up to the actor during a dark time in his life. With a sincere email in reply as proof, Ryan says “there actually is a lot of Ted Lasso in the real Jason Sudeikis.”
During a challenging period in late 2017, Ryan’s father died from a heart attack. He struggled with the aftermath of his grief, which carried over a few months later when Sudeikis was doing press for the Netflix film “Kodachrome,” which focuses on Sudeikis attempting to make things right with his dying father, played by Ed Harris. When Ryan interviewed Sudeikis, he noted that much of the storyline and its themes affected him on a personal level.
Later that day, he received an email from Sudeikis that he describes as “inspirational.” Feeling that his words might help others going through a tough situation, he asked Sudeikis for permission to print his email, which he agreed to:
Just wanted to shoot ya a quick note and let ya know that I’m so sorry for your loss. And I thank you for feeling comfortable enough with me to share. Please please please feel ZERO regret in doing so.
It’s important and f—ing necessary for us human beings to do that. To connect. To share. And to not concern ourselves too much with the outcome of such bravery. Especially the men of the world. Our generation is the first to “understand” that notion, but darn it, I’d love to try and be the first generation of fellas to “live” the notion as well. So let’s both continue to attempt to be on that “side of history,” shall we?
I wish you all the luck and openness in the universe on finding the “four rolls of Kodachrome” your own father left you. Because he did. It’s out there. I know it is.
The one thing I want you to consider though is that it might not be physically “out there”, because it might actually be living inside of you. And through you. And merely accepting that possibility might be where and when the “finding” happens.
You see deeply into things for a living. Allow yourself the experience of doing that to yourself, for yourself.
Okay man. Be well. Always good to see and speak with you.
yours,
Jason
Ryan maintained that the reason he wanted to share the letter because he wanted to spread Ted Lasso’s “refreshing” message of niceness and positivity to others.
”It turns out, Jason Sudeikis, someone I’ve been fortunate to get to know a bit professionally, but certainly not well, did a truly nice thing for me when I really needed it and, frankly, I want people to know he did this,” Ryan wrote. “Also, the very few people I’ve actually told this story to always have a very positive reaction to it and now I just want to share it with others.”