The Scene That Blew Juno Temple Away In Ted Lasso Season 1 - Exclusive

"Ted Lasso" is pitched as a comedy, and it certainly has its share of hilarious moments, but there are a lot of funny shows out there. What sets the Jason Sudeikis-starring sports-but-more-than-that show apart is its massive heart and its winning cast of characters. And while "Ted Lasso" may be stocked with memorable personalities, rarely does this killer combination of outstanding characterization and heartstring-tugging emotion hit harder than in the pairing of Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Keeley Jones (Juno Temple).

The Roy-Keeley 'ship started as a will-they-or-won't-they, opposites attract sort of thing typical of sitcoms, but quickly matured into a touching portrait of two people growing into a healthy romantic couple. The perfect illustration of that dynamic came near the end of Season 1, when Roy's injury during Richmond's final match of the season leads to the end of his career ... and a touching locker room moment with Keeley.

Apparently, we weren't the only ones having our heartstrings pulled by this scene. Temple, too, felt the power of Roy's visceral need to be held in a rare moment of vulnerability for the veteran footballer. She described this realization in an exclusive interview with Looper.

According to Temple, she's not often moved by scenes that she's worked on when she watches them after the fact. This scene, however, was different. 

"Even though I'm a part of it, I was actually really moved by it when I watched it, which is quite rare," she said. "I mean, talk about your life being ripped out of your chest in that moment. And a little creature coming in and being like, 'Please let me in,' and Roy being like, 'No, but please,' until he collapses on her. I remember when we showed it, it was a moment that was really intimate, and we cared a lot about that beat because it's a big moment for Roy."

Temple's appreciation for the moment was only enhanced by an article examining its sensitivity and subversion of typical male-female romantic dynamics. "Brett sent me a really amazing article. It was a really insightful and beautiful article about relationships and about the male and female dynamics in a relationship, and about letting people in and the vulnerability of it," she said. "I felt really proud of being a part of what might have inspired this article, because it felt like it was an essay that just was really insightful about relationships. And the fact that scene sort of triggered that thought process, I thought, was really cool."

"Ted Lasso" is currently premiering new episodes Fridays on Apple TV+.