If it is a question of “midnight poutine” in Ted Lasso, it is thanks to Moe Jeudy-Lamour. The Quebec actor resumes his role as a Montreal soccer player in the irresistible comedy, which returns for a second season on Apple TV +.
Reached by phone, the 34-year-old comedian boasts – with good reason – the series that received 20 Emmy nominations last week.
“It’s so bright. It sends a positive message, full of kindness and humility, that resonates with people. “
Brushing a portrait of an American college football coach at the helm of a professional British soccer team, Ted Lasso has enjoyed critical and popular success since its launch in 2020. Moe Jeudy-Lamour plays Thierry Zoreaux, the club’s French-Canadian goalkeeper.
“When Jason (Sudeikis, co-creator, co-author and star of Ted Lasso) told me I was going to be the team’s goalie, I was like, ‘It would be cooler to be a striker. . ”But then I got it. I don’t need to run all day when shooting game scenes. I stay on target. I watch the others from afar. It is good deal ! He says on the other end of the phone.
Moe Jeudy-Lamour likes to say that he owes his role in Ted Lasso to Montreal. Indeed, it was in 2014, during the shooting of the American film Race in Quebec, that he befriended Jason Sudeikis.
“I gave him a tour of Montreal. I took it all over town. We became close. “
The two have kept in touch over the years. This is how Moe Jeudy-Lamour heard about Ted Lasso before the whole planet.
Improvisation
Lasso faithful will notice that the expression “midnight poutine” – improvised by Moe Jeudy-Lamour during a take and kept during the editing – makes a comeback at the start of the second season.
“This expression comes 100% from me,” says the one who says a few words in Quebec during the first episode. I had thought about it just before we shot the scene. Jason likes to improvise. He’s a genius in this area. It creates exceptional moments. “
Filming for the 12 new episodes took place in London earlier this year, between January and June. The pandemic complicated the adventure quite a bit, but Moe Jeudy-Lamour and the whole team escaped unscathed.
“We had tests three times a week,” says the actor. We had to wear the mask between each take. We each stayed in our own corner. At first it was really tough, but we got used to it. “
As far as he can remember, Moe Jeudy-Lamour has always wanted to become an actor.
“When we were young, my brother and I watched TV all the time. You could watch three films a day. We loved it! We had fun pretending we were shooting movie scenes, etc. “
Despite this obvious passion, it was towards the law that he headed when the time for choices arrived.
“I wanted to be a lawyer until I entered Concordia University. I was in political science and realized that I didn’t feel like doing 9 to 5. It wasn’t for me. “
The American dream
More determined than ever to break into the industry, Moe Jeudy-Lamour then landed a few secondary roles by commuting between Montreal and Toronto.
In French in Quebec, it appeared in the credits of series such as Unit 9, District 31, 19-2 and Victor Lessard. It also ended up in X-Men : Days of Future Past.
“I was next to Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, and I realized that my dream was something possible. “
Today, Moe Jeudy-Lamour pursues his career far from his family, in California. He has lived in Los Angeles for four years. He returns to Montreal from time to time to visit his mother and see those close to him.
“An actor friend once told me, ‘You can stay in Canada. You are going to work. You are going to have good roles. But to win the Super Bowl, you have to go to the United States. ” That’s what I did. ”
Always so winning
A year after being conquered by Ted Lasso, we were concerned that Jason Sudeikis and company would serve us a suite below expectations. We feared the famous drop in quality often observed when the team behind a surprise success tries to do too much to recreate the magic of the beginnings.
Fortunately, we were afraid for nothing. The second season of Ted Lasso exerts an ever so irresistible charm. This is what we remember after watching the first three episodes that Apple TV + unveiled to the media. Episodes that have been online since Friday July 23.
Side lasso
The first season of Ted Lasso ended with the failure of AFC Richmond, the soccer club (or European football) that the coach was supposed to put back in the saddle in the suburbs of London. The sequel resumed a few months later, as the team accumulated draws in the lower division.
The first episodes put Lasso aside a bit to allow the secondary characters (who we had missed) to shine more.
For example, club owner Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham, who is looked at differently since we realized she was playing the veiled nun who said “Shame!” To Cersei as she walked naked through town in Game of Thrones), try to find love. With a knee injury, ex-captain Roy Ken (Brett Goldstein) now coaches – with his usual intensity – an eight-year-old soccer team, while Keeley (Juno Temple) encourages him to become a TV commentator.
As for the active players, Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernandez) struggles to chase away a strange trauma, and Sam (Toheeb Jimoh) sees his integrity put to the test.
As for the spoiled baby of Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), his fate is so delicious that we refuse to fan him. You will thank us when you see the surprise.
Finally, let’s underline the arrival of a sports psychologist full of potential played by Sarah Niles.
A lot of heart
Allow us to insist: you don’t have to love soccer – or even sport in general – to enjoy Ted Lasso. It suffices to be fond of warm and heartwarming comedies, a genre difficult to master, because all too often, the authors co-found good feelings with excess of sentimentality.
Lovers of creaky and caustic humor may not find their account, but we bet that many will eventually crack. Indeed, it is difficult to see how someone could remain unmoved in front of so much heart.
The second season of Ted Lasso is available in original English and French versions on Apple TV at the rate of one episode per week.
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