Welcome to the crown On InCor Greyhounds. This is Richmond Till We Die,
a conversation about the Apple TV Plus show ted Lasso, where we explore the
characters, their relationships to each other, and how they're able to make us
laugh until we can hardly breathe one moment and then feel with the deepest parts
of our hearts the next. I'm Brett and I've been tasked with you in
the intro and altro for this episode by myself because apparently I work with two
pre madonnas. Joe's kidding all jokes aside, Marissa, Christian and I are
so excited to present this episode's guest actor, Maximilian Osinski. Y'all know him
for his work as Zava on ted Lasso, the newest and most enigmatic member
of our beloved AFC Richmond. Those who aren't familiar with the soccer world may
not know that Zava bears a whole lot of resemblance, both physically and in
personality, to the iconic and larger than life Swedish footballer named Zlatan Ibrahimovich og
Marvel. Fans may also recognize Max from his role as Agent Davis in the
ABC show Agents of Shield, or as Dennis Graham in The Walking Dead World
Beyond. Max has also made appearances on the NYC theater scene and has both
the writing and producing credit for work that he did on the TV miniseries Hollywood
Hitman, which he also starred in. We've loved the energy, no the
aura that Max has brought to this third season of ted Lasso, and we're
excited that we can all get this chance to get to know him and Zava
a little better. So Greyhounds please join us as we give a warm welcome
to Maximilian Osinski. Thank you for being on the show. Max. Hello,
everyone listening, Thank you guys for having me. Yeah, thanks for
being here. How did you come to be involved with ted Lasso and specifically
when you audition did you know you were auditioning for us a lot on the
character. Oh yeah, well, it kind of all happened, and it
was magic in a way because me and my wife, after the pandemic,
we found we've lived in la for ten years plus and we kind of just
wanted to get out after everything started opening up, and so we're like,
why don't we just rent our house and go to London for three months,
and I was like what. She was like, yeah, let's just,
you know, go on an adventure. So I agreed. I said that
sounds great. So we did and come out here. We rented the house
and then we came out. But November third, I remember, and about
a month in I got this self tape request for the show. And I
remember getting the tape and I was like, there's a breakdown for the role
and it said, you know, one of the top scores in the world
based on several like famous soccer players or a football players. Yeah, And
then I was like, I can't. I don't play soccers, must be
able to soccer. Please send a clip of yourself doing some soccer tricks.
I'm like, I'm an immigrant. I came here when I was eight weeks
old from Poland, but I didn't grow up with a football tied to my
ankle like a lot of the kids do here right in London, man,
there they look like many messies at four years old. And so I almost
I almost kind of psyched myself out because I thought the role was really fun
and I thought I could do it, but the whole soccer thing, because
I had seen Christo on the show and I just want to preface this.
Me and my wife were huge fans of the show, like everyone else in
the stage, right, I love the show. We felt good watching it.
All our friends loved it. So you get the tape and then request
and you see that and I kind of almost psyched myself out because I don't
like, I suck it football. I don't mean to disappoint any of the
fans of the show. Um what you're an actor? Shocked? Yeah,
um and then um psyching myself out. You know, I almost turned down
the table. I remember I was like that day, I was gonna call
my manager. But like, guys, it's it's ted Lasso, it's season
three. For this role, they can cast anyone. They could literally I
thought they could literally call it any Premier League player and say do you want
to play this role? Right, because Peo wouldn't want to be on the
show by then. Um, and last minute, my wife was like,
just why don't you call our friend Damian Bodie's he's a friend of ours and
he lives in Australia and he's like a super positive guy. He's almost like
a Ted Lasso. And I gave him a call and he was like,
what, oh Max did lasso. Oh no, you gotta do it.
Just do like, show them what you got, don't show them what you
don't got. Um, it's probably a terrible Australian accident. I'm so sorry.
Yeah. He just said, dude, you you look the part.
You're in shape. Um you can. You can smash the tape and then
just go to the park, take your shirt off, exercise as the character
and maybe do some slow motion kicks and it's gonna look badass. And I
took his advice and I said, all right, yeah, all right,
I'll try. So I felt better and I did the actual tape the size
that came with it, um than me and my own wife. In character,
we improvised like an interview with Zava, Yes, and I spoke a
little bit of Polish in there, just to like, you know, show
them what I got basically, you know, highlight what I can do and
not what I can't. And then we went to the park and like I
probably looked like, um, like an household because I took off my shirt
and I started doing crazy stuff. I was doing push ups in character,
like style soccer or football warm ups. You see the guys do on the
field, pull ups on a tree. I was squatting at this big log,
winking to the camera, and then slow motion like me terribly running up
trying to kick the ball up high, and like doing some knee knee juggling
and dribbling, and then like a header and slow motion and we put it
to music and I just tried to have joy and fun with the tape.
And it was a lot of fun, and the tape was fun to make
and it was fun to look at. And then I just sent it off
and I said, you know, that's what I got, So that's the
guy if I was going to do them. And it took about a month
from when I sent the tape to when my reps called and said I got
it. And unbeknownst to me, my reps were basically like keeping it really
low key that my tape was getting traction and moving up the food shape.
And they called me like a week out before the official offer and they're like,
or no, I just think I actually know. I just like pinged
my manager. I was like, hey, did we ever get any feedback
or about the last thing, because they were laughing at the table when I
sent there. I was like oh yeah, yeah, yeah, um,
it's gone up pretty high. We're just waiting for Jason to approve the tape
and I was like, what, it's a good bit of first news.
Yeah, I was like, Jason Sadakis is like yeah, yeah, yeah,
they just sent the tape to him and I was like, oh my
god, we should know by the end of the week. And I was
like is this really possible. I'm like really, And then we were out
there dinner with my wife and the in laws who were here to visit.
Um. I think it was like December eighteenth, and my my agent manager
called and said your your Zava and it was very exciting, a bit surreal.
H the best Christmas gift a guy could ask for. Yeah, And
I remember my wife. My wife teared up a little bit because she loved
the show and cried and I cried a little too hard because I was wondering,
did you not did you believe? But yeah, that's kind of how
it came to be, in the process of me trying to how I taped
for and what I what I brought to the to the tape and the read
So yeah, it was. It was fantastic news, very just I'm so
lucky. It was like really just stupid luck, you know, and I'm
I got hired as an actor from this, Like they weren't looking for actors
in the States. They were looking for like globally everywhere else but America apparently.
So it's kind of like, good, you just made the cut.
I just made the cut and it worked out. It worked out, which
then kept us here until and like till end of the July. Because of
the show, Marissa of the three of us, has the most illustrious soccer
career. I think it peaked. When did it peaked, Marissa? Around
middle school? Yeah, that sounds about right, Christian. Yeah, and
since then, you know, now, none of the three of us are
gonna trick anybody into thinking we're professional footballers. But we watch a lot of
soccer. And so the minute that we out of like heard your character being
described on screen and then saw you, it was very clear that you were
based off of Zlatan Ibrahimovich. Inspired by lat Ibrahimovich. How where were you
of him before you auditioned for the role, and then how did you prepare
to play him? Because he is very well known, enigmatic and specific in
how people understand him. Yeah, well, I mean, the Breakdown referenced
um Eric Cantona references lats On Ibrahimovich, and they didn't say that he's like
a villain. They described him more as like an agitator. And I had
no idea coming from the States who's lot On Ibrahimovich was. But after getting
the part, I just I watched some interviews and stuff for the audition to
get kind of the sense of some of these guys. But once I got
the part, I kind of just dove into that world. I read tons
of books and bios, watched hours of like documentaries and interviews. I read
Zlatan's book I Am Football Right, which is amazing. He didn't entitle it's
Laton as football, but whatever. Yeah, but I'll be honest with you
guys, I I fell in love with Latan Ibrahima. That's like I really
got to know who the guy was, like not just from like the YouTube
clips you see, but like hit the book he wrote, and then the
interviews and hearing other people talk about him. I really admire the guy.
And I think Jason and Brendan said the same thing interview, like they're huge
fans of his and I became a huge fan of his and I kind of
learned that these guys, the way they present to the public and the press
is they're completely different in the locker room and with friends and family, and
some of them present in a Xava esque way, some of them a lot
more quiet, or you can say humble, like a messy or you know,
a Zaidan. There's Canton All too, who was a big kind of,
I think, an influence for the writers of the show. So yeah,
it was just a lot of trying to understand why these guys behave the
way they do and why they change. And I think you kind of see
that in episode three a little bit when he finally gets to meet the team
and everyone. The charisma and there is a genuineness when they're talking to you.
They are talking to you there in the moment. There's no one else
of concern. It's like, I'm talking to you. And I remember like
that, and I kind of compared it to him. I had a friend
who's a costume designer and she worked with Tom Cruise on a movie, and
you know, you're like, oh, it's Tom Cruise. He's coming in
and once you're in the room with him, he's in the room with you.
He knows your name, he knows what you do, he's interested in
what you're doing, and he's humble and he wants to work together. And
I think I thought that was something interesting to bring to him if I could
in helping tell the story, you know, like at the end of the
day, it's their guy, their show, their story, and they you
know, I'm just there to help facilitate the vision they want right for the
season. So I usually I'll do whatever they need with the character. But
as an actor, I kind of prepared it like I was playing a biopic,
you know. I didn't want to go in like doing a bad impression
of someone, and I wasn't trying to do an impression of any individual soccer
player. I know people are saying there's a lot of similarities, but that
wasn't my intention. And the way where I come from, I thought it
was interesting if he did sound like you can't figure out where he's from,
right, you know, I'm Polish. I didn't want to sound I didn't
want to have a Polish accent. I didn't want to have a Russian accent,
Swedish, French. But these guys are international, They've lived everywhere.
Ye because black Time's lived everywhere. You know, he has his moms from
one place, his dad's from a complete other place, grew up here,
speak several languages. I thought it was just interesting if you can't point where
I don't know where he's from, I can't tell, right, Yeah.
I think the you've mentioned that and some other interviews like kind of the work
you did to sort of add some mystique, even more mystique to the character
through a sort of unidentifiable like he's not clearly Russian or Polish or something like
that. He's just kind of vaguely European metropolitan, you know, like it's
a it's a really it's a brilliant choice, I think, And I think
that's one of the reasons that people just have that strong point of reference to
a player like Latan, because you know, he kind of carries that same
sort of mystique, like he's just he's a he's an enigma, like he
is what he is. And I think Brendan Hunt sort of succinctly said that
when he was like Zava merely is Zava, Like he has no regard for
the small things that a coach might try to do, but he has no
disregard. He's just a force unto himself essentially, you know, he's and
I think that's one of the things you see in in episode three is that
when we very first meet Zava, it's almost like, oh, is this
just like a Jamie Tart one point zero on steroids? Like a diva who
only cares about himself, And then as you get into episode three you realize
this is a very different thing. Like they're both hugely talented, and of
course Zava's a little bit of a diva as well, but like you said,
the charisma and the way that he attracts people to himself as something that
one point oh Jamie never had. So you know what was the process of
for you and the writers and the creative team of just like making sure,
okay, this is distinct enough, Like this is a different this is not
just a Jamie one point oh retread. Yeah, well, the thing is
like it was like, it's two things. I remember Brendan m The first
day I kind of really got to like even just chat with him about Zava
was the day I showed up to film the Veggie Dog Vigilante scene and he
says something to me there that kind of like was like, oh, yeah,
yeah, that makes sense, he said. You know, like like
like Michael Jordan when he retired from basketball and then went to go play for
the White Sox, he was like he was part of the team. He
wrote the team bus, but his hotel was different, you know other players,
that's right, Like Jamie's at a different place in his career than Zava.
Like like Brendan said, Zava's climbed the mountaintop several times, you know
one trophy. Yeah, yeah, it was a legacy already. Yeah.
Yeah, he doesn't he doesn't need to prove himself to anyone anymore. Um,
you know, for him, he's I think he's just looking for a
new challenge in his in his life and at this point as a career,
which I read a lot with a lot of these guys when they've peaked and
they've been at a peak for a long time, like they kind of for
them like family matters at that point a lot. What where can I play
that makes my family happy? You know, I've made my money, I've
created a name for myself. And sometimes you're like not to get to like
psychoanalytical, but like these players, sometimes they're made to can feel like,
you know, you've played for so long that you end up just being like
this piece that people want to trade, right be on a team, and
you know, when you're starting out that's exciting. You want everyone to want
you and fight for you. But once you've you've done everything you've ever dreamt
of and you've reached this glorious like pinnacle in your sports career, you know
that game doesn't fill you up with anything, and the stuff that grounds you
in life is what really matters. And that kind of like it kind of
helped me like ground the character and his motivation and why he would say this,
some of the stuff he would say, why he would behave the way
he would behave, why he would jump through different from all these different teams
as they describe him, because it for me it was really like the role
is so funny. You read all this stuff and on the surface you get
it, and on the surface the public when you hear people like Zlatan and
all these other players Ronaldo, they're switching teams. That's just what the headlines
say. So for me his act, I was like, all right,
that's what I would think too, but like why why they act that way?
What's something, what's a little deeper meaning behind why they would do that,
you know. So that's kind of how it helped, just to find
ground the role for myself and how the audience perceives it and how you guys
feel about it. That's entirely true for your experience. And it's none of
my business to tell you how to feel about him, you know, like,
I'm hopefully you're entertained by him, whether you love him or you hate
him, or you're like you don't know what you want to think about him,
that's that's true for you. So I try not to judge them the
character at all. You guys can do that, and we still we're still
going to get to know him a lot more to write. And I think
your portrayal is very honest, and you're acting it so well, because he
could be just a caricature or this cartoon or just come off as a villain.
But yeah, I think as the audience gets to know him, there
is something very lovable and endearing and charming about him that isn't just one note
of you know, the diva that's coming in just or all the goals there.
You know, clearly the team has some admiration for him, and I
think that goes a long way for the audience too, because it is a
show that's so heavily based on this dynamic of the ensemble. Right So,
coming into this show that was so well gelled, I guess as an ensemble,
was that something you felt like was particularly difficult or was there someone who
kind of made you feel like a literal part of the team right away?
Well, in general, it's always as an actor who comes in to Rick
her a guest st are and something that's one of the hardest jobs to do
because you come in and there's a regular cast that's been on the show,
even just one full season lettle in two or three, and with this show
specifically two amazing seasons with you know, adulation and awards and everything. So
it's always a come in. It's like that that second third removed cousin who
gets invited to thanks coming in. The room's kind of quiet. But so
I've I've I've experienced that before, but coming onto this show was nothing like
that. Like I was a little bit like, all, I wonder what
everyone's gonna be like, and you know, they all seem really great on
the show, and you hear him and interviews or podcasts, they seem really
lovely, but you never know, You never know, do you know what
I mean? Yea? And I came in and like I started going on
the costume fittings first, and I started meeting everyone in, like all the
guys from the team, like Phil and to Heab and Caller and Billy and
Christo. They like knocked down my dressing room door introduced themselves and we're like
so pumped to meet the guy who's gonna plead playing Zava and we were all
like laughing about the clothes. It just felt very welcoming and like there was
no egos. There was no like, oh, who's this guy who was
playing this guy, you know, one of the top strikers in the world
on the show, Like what does he think he is? It was everyone
was as nice as they come off on the show, to the point where
I came home. I think I told the story a few times where I
came home and told my wife, Babe, everyone is really nice. Asshole
ahole you know, like when you're playing poker and you can't find the sucker
at the table, that means you're the sucker. So I couldn't have felt
more welcomed and just comfortable. Hannah was wonderful the first time I met her.
A funny story, we were filming that Chelsea scene and we hadn't really
chattered and said hi to each other at all, but I had filmed a
zavo walking into the stadium with the hands up, and then they were doing
the reaction, and after we wrapped that, we were just a little video
village, and you know, I just said, Hey, I'd like to
induce myself. You know, I terrific work on the show. We've been
fans and you deserve all the accolades. You've gotten a pleasure to work with
you. And she was like, oh, Darling. At this point,
I just come to said and I just hope please don't fuck it up.
You know that. I sure, you know the third season now to two
seasons of awards and everything, so that no one is resting on their laurels.
You know, they're all words as if this is day one on episode
one, season one, like everyone wants to do the best they can.
It's everyone top from Jason all the way down to the pas grabbing coffee,
like everyone's just happy to be there and enjoying everything. Walk us through the
your experience at the premiere a little bit, because you come and you do
the blue carpet thing and people are taking your pictures. A lot of the
guests impress at that point, you know, probably don't know exactly what your
role is going to be or entail. The lights go down, everybody watches
the first two episodes and they watch it like on a movie screen, and
so it's this different experience. And you get to the end of episode two
and you've had at least two like really memorable important scenes. The lights come
up, and now like everybody recognizes you as, Oh, you're that guy.
What's going through your head as you're talking to all of these strangers beforehand?
And then what's the experience like after everybody gets to see those first two
episodes. Actually, when I did the press line, the actual press got
four episodes, I think the first four, so they already knew who I
was playing and I had seen it, so that kind of actually made that
whole blue carpet thing way easier. Instead of just showing up, They're like,
why are we taking photos of this guy right to talk to him?
So that that made a little bit more relaxing because everyone's like, oh,
hey, you know you're this, like, tell us about that. And
I was just nervous because I had no idea what like like they told me.
But I was just like, I don't know how much I can talk
about And people are telling you, like this, this outlet knows they've seen
the first four episodes. You can talk to them. This one's only seen
the first two. Don't mention anything about the three and there's but you know,
reporters ask and they dig. So I was just more nervous about not
ruining anything. But yeah, when the lights came up, that was that
was That was fun too, because a lot of people in the audience maybe
didn't really know who I was because they hadn't seen for the episodes, and
it seemed like people really enjoyed, enjoyed them the first two episode of the
season and the character. And you know, if you can make a room
full of people laugh, you're just like you can breathe easy a little bit.
Especially with a role like this, you're like Jesus, you know,
I just hope it doesn't fall flat. Um, But and again, how
could it, Like you work with guys like Jason Brett and Brendan like they
don't want to let anyone fail, you know, and if you just trust
them, then you know, let it happen. So yeah, it was.
It was great. It was surreal to be at the premiere to answer
your question quickly, and the blue carpet was a little easier because people had
known why I was standing on the blue carpet. But yeah, there's definitely
a different effect once it's aired. Where people saw on the after party.
Was it was nice? It was nice. Well, I want to circle
back to kind of what Christian mentioned about the You have kind of these two
major scenes in episode two, and I would say, just based on the
internet reaction alone, the urinal scene is going to pass into like television lore
as like one of the most powerful, like hilarious scenes, and especially like
you have Hannah Wattingham. She's just a force, right, And I had
read somewhere I think that originally there was more dialogue for Zava in that moment,
but once you all filmed it, like the day of filming, maybe
someone came, maybe Jason came and said like, hey, actually, like
just don't say anything. She's just gonna like kind of steamroll you. And
then leave, and so what was it like kind of experiencing that because that's
like sort of Zava's first big moment and then you know, your dialogue disappears,
but it adds this wonderful bit of mystery. But kind of what was
that situation? Like, yeah, no, that's a great story. So
Jason came like on paper. When I got the script, I read that
scene and now I was like dying, especially with the pe underneath the scene,
and I was just pinching myself on my arm. So lucky that I
get to work with. These guys are brilliant. This is hilarious, and
the and the dialogue between them was really funny. And the day we were
filming the Chelsea stuff was actually the day before the bathroom scene, so this
is a day ahead. We filmed the Chelsea stuff. And then Jason came
up to me, um, you know, and he has that ted lapso
mustache and stuff, and he's always like he's very focused as as like a
creator of the show and all about the work, which actually put me at
ease because you forget who you're talking to and who you're around. It's just
like boom, we jump into the work. But he came up and he
was like, hey, man, I was thinking like, maybe we keep
his off a bit bit more of a mystery, and I kind of just
I'm thinking, Hannah should just like say this whole thing and you don't say
anything. This is I think this is like day one or day two of
me filming, because previously I did the Leggie Dog would you lan anything?
Which is pretty quick, and in my head, I'm like, oh Jesus,
and you know, to Jason, I'm like yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah absolutely. In my head, I'm like, fun, you think
I sucked. We didn't even rehearse it him, give him giving us a
shot to like say it all out. You know, maybe I just maybe
I'm somehow. But I went home and I looked at the they sent the
provided stuff, and I was like, this is actually better. You know.
I think Show Don't Tell is like one of the main things you talk
about when you're doing film and TV um and when we filmed it, it
just felt great, like why would he say anything? And I think it
keeps a him really mysterious. He still has his status and it gives in
Hannah just nailed that that speech, and the whole time I was just trying
to keep it together, and especially in that asparagus line. Yeah, but
when I saw in the theater for the first time, when I saw EP
two, I was like, as a brilliant choice, Like he doesn't need
to say hey, anything, and Hannah's it's Hannah's moment. It's like Hannah's
time to like, you know, grab grab him by the balls and like
tell him the truth. And you know, it still works. It still
motivates him to go to Richmond, and it still keeps him high status and
a bit mysterious because you know, I got the glasses on and everything.
So I thought it was like the best choice because on paper things are funny,
right, But when I put him in real life and you do him
and these see them on screen like it, it might not work. And
I think that's the brilliance of these guys, is Jason. All these guys
know that, and they keep everything flexible and they leave room the day of
filming for some magic and inspiration to happen. So a lot of the stuff
you've seen in the show, which I discovered quickly, like, is discovered
and played with while you're shooting, sometimes in between takes. And I think
that was like something I've never experienced that on a set before, you know,
and you can chalk it up to Jason's snel experience and the writer's room
and experience, but yeah, I loved I thank god they cut my lines.
I know that. I never think I'd say it out loud, but
yeah, well, and it takes. It takes a cast of people who
you know are sort of humble enough to serve the content, you know,
are to serve the story being told. And that's like, I think that's
something that you know, we've talked to a handful of cast and creative folks
from the show now, and that just that seems to be an overarching kind
of echoing thing that we hear is like yes, like those things happen,
and in the moment you're kind of like okay, like hope it works.
And then you see the finished product and you're like, yes, like brilliant
because I assume we are going to sort of find out Zava's motivations and it's
going to be in a way that's way more interesting. But then you just
get this, like you find the second laugh right, like we are laughing
at the asparagus line, and then Zava liked to have this beat and then
sniffs, which is like killed me. I died, so like like you
get the extra laugh anyway, you know, so good? Thank you?
Yeah, yeah, I know it was yeah Hannah. I mean that's all
Hannah's work. I just had to stand there and try not to laugh not
to laugh. Yeah, you mentioned costuming earlier. How fun was it to
do costuming for Zambo and did you get to have any input into his personal
style? Costume? Was a lot of fun, and I like, very
luckily I did get to have a little bit of input into the costuming.
Jackie what the Jackie Levy, the costume designer, was fantastic to collaborate with.
She wanted to. She asked me, what do you think, Like,
here's some options. What are you feeling like? We were texting different
looks for him, especially the first step, and a lot was changing.
I remember in the original episode two, the way they interest Zamba wasn't the
veggie dog vigilante. It was like he was doing like some watch commercial with
the shirt open and stuff. So we were fitting that and then next day
it changed, and then we suddenly found ourselves looking for something like that made
sense for the vigie dog vigilanti, veggie dog vigilante part of me. But
like the yellow shoes, I'm wearing the high top shoes that I brought that
idea in because I bought these, the short top version of those, and
I was in Paris and I just thought these kind of work. And I
saw the high tops and I was like, Jackie, what do you think
of these? But the high tops for Zava like the kind of flashy,
They're very bright, and she brought them. She brought the idea to the
guys and they signed off and they loved it. And then we were trying
on these different jackets. I remember I tried on this like really bright colored
purple rainbow which fur coat, and I told Jackie, this feels more like
mc lemore to me, that you know, And then we found that jacket
um and I loved the fur collar. I thought of him as like this
lion, viewed himself as like a lion. I love the sheep. And
you know, Jackie loved it, and she brought it to the guys and
they they thought it was great. I think I read somewhere that the guys
kind of said, like they like to let the actress kind of their instincts
kind of guide where the clothing takes them. And it felt that way to
me when I walked down the show, and Jackie being kind enough to like
want to hear out my ideas was really nice. Um, so it felt
really collaborative and like I had a little bit of input as to what Zavo
might wear when and even how I'm looking forward to the drop of the Zava
and Zava and Zava and Zava T shirt, Like I'm for sure buying one
of those when that happens, and if not, we're buying a cricket and
making our you guys notice those shirts. That's great. Yeah, we had
deposit well to your point too about the costuming, is I think I before
season three. This might have been between season one and two or maybe two
and three, but I have seen Jackie Levy in an interview say you know
that they sort of asked them of those initial core group of players to like
think about a footballer that inspired them or that they felt some sort of connection
too, and then they were able to sort of draw from that. And
so especially these days, there's a wealth of fashion to choose from when it
comes to looking at footballer, So that's yeah, you know, and I
don't wear yeah, I don't wear Versacci shirts and stuff like that, like
you know, I'm like black shirts. He should kind of guys. So
that was a lot of fun to just you know, Jackie Plant, what
about this Versacci shirt or this you know name the designer top and the coat.
And I was like, geez, yeah, sure, yeah, high
fashion. It was nice. It was fun. It's fun and when you
get to play role like that, you just lean into it and you just
try to own it. You know. I always told myself, I gotta,
you know, for this role, like I, I have to wear
the coat. The coat can't wear meat, you know. So you don't
want to look like an actor in the costume. I look like the character.
That's the coat he wants to wear, and he rocks it, you
know, right. Part of the cost doing is, you know, the
shirt comes off in one of your most iconic bits and we see the giant
tattoo on your back. Brett is dying to know if you know, whose
idea was to use Jesus Christ superstar in that scene for the music? Yeah,
I don't know. You don't want a script usually though, in this
in this show. In the script, they would say, you know,
this is happening, and underneath we have like six differentists, different songs they
possibly want to use for it, and it was funny and other ones I
think they use in the montage, and three was actually on in the script
again like they'll change it based on what fits as the as the show gets
formed. I don't know whose idea that was wasn't mine. I loved it,
yeah yeah. And the tattoo, yeah, I remember. The tattoo
was a big thing because I originally wanted to have, um, some sleeves
tattoo sleeves here and stuff, and then we would have the tattoo on the
back. But I just I think they like those two things. It's less
time in the chair for me, right, So I don't want to do
the sleeves. And I think they wanted to do that reveal of the tattoo
on the back, like make it count right, make it once, and
make it special, which I think then I'm just paid off, which was
hilarious. Oh boy, did it? Yeah? Yeah yeah. And so
we were working on the design of the tattoo, you know, kind of
like I was pitching some ideas and then I think Brendan was working on some
ideas, if I'm not mistaken, And then NICKI Austin costume, Aaron makeup,
help help execute it. And you know, I'm glad you guys liked
it a brilliant You mentioned that you speak some Polish. You're also skilled enough
in folk dance to have folk danced for Pope John Paul. The second,
how did you get that opportunity? Why are you bringing that up? Well,
first of all, I'm not skilled enough to go dance for Poke.
Done that? That gave grown up guy. We gotta cut the interview short.
That's it, all right, so very quickly. I grew up in
Chicago. It is a very heavy Polish neighborhood. My mom, because we
immigrated, wanted to make sure that he was in touch with my Polish roots.
So I went to Polish school. You know, I did the Polish
Boy Scouts. You know, they made me play piano like every Polish kid.
Yet it was to learn. And then when I was in the boy
Scouts, I met a friend and he was like, hey, man,
do you want to meet some girls. There's a lot of girls in this
Polish folk dance group. And we don't have enough. Guy. I think
I was like thirteen fourteen. I was like, yeah, yeah, let's
do it. And before I knew it, I was wearing a folk costume
with an ostrich feather sticking out of me and black leather boots to my knees,
like dancing away. And this folk group kind of had a bit of
like a footprint in Chicago, and I have no idea how they finagled this,
but we got to travel to Rome to do like a pilgrimage that was
Israel. Sorry, we traveled to Israel after that. But we went to
Rome and we danced in like this general audience with the pope you know when
he does masks, and in the Vatican with one hundred thousands of people.
And then the head of the group knew one of the cardinals or bishops,
and she requested if we could do a private dance for him in his home
in kester Gundorfo And like two days later he says, yes, he would
love to have you guys over. So like fourteen years old, I'm going
to the pope out John Paul, you know, is famous Polish pope,
and we found ourselves. We did two dances for him, and he was
so funny and he was cracking jokes about Chicago, and he shook everyone's hand
and we got to meet him and we took photos with him. So it
wasn't necessarily like you have to audition for the group like group and then the
group has the audition. It was I don't know. I don't know who
she knew to ask and how he did it, but I know that we
were like the third Polish folk dance group in history to dance for him,
and our pictures somewhere in the Vatican Museum. That's like my little that's my
little, like you know, ice Breaker. When I meet do interviews or
meeting new people and they're like, did you folk dance for the Pope?
I'm like, one of the reasons just to meet girls. One of the
reasons I asked the question is because Tom Hendrick, who plays O'Brien on ted
Lasso, he is quite the accomplished Polish folk dancer and I saw today on
his Instagram he's at like a UK Polish folk festival and he's like in the
outfit and dancing and everything. Did the two of you find occasion to have
a dance off at any point between scenes. Is that's something he lunched two,
Yeah, we did, and we we pitched it to Jason and he
loved it, and we filmed the scene with Zava and his character folk dance
off in the locker room and then they just cut it. You can't wait
till we get that blooper reel. We could not have. We did hit
it off the right away, like I can. We you know, I
think he can tell from my last name Ossinski And he was like, hey,
you know, brother, do you speak Polish? And I was like
yeah, and I started speaking Polish and he started speaking Polish and we were
just it was nice. And then you know, he told me he folk
dance and I was like, oh my god, I did that too.
You know, I stopped stopped about sixteen. But I think you should ask
him. He's like the professional folk dancer that he probably should have been at
the Pope's house, not me. But he's terrific. He's a wonderful guy.
And yeah, he lives in London, so we keep in touch.
It's interesting how your stories your introductions to folk dance line up too, because
when we talked to him, I think he expressed that his family also wanted
him to stay connected to his Polish roots, and that he also like sort
of he was like, it was a great way to meet girls when you
were like a teenager. So you know that's you know, there you go,
who do Polish folk dancing? Who are you? Yeah? I mean
I don't think I got a girlfriend out of it. Poulse advertising that they
weren't interested in the guys, and you know Ostrich feather Caps shocker. Yeah,
You've mentioned your wife teaching a couple of times, and y'all worked together
on Agents of Shield And now you're both in Apple TV plus shows. You're
in Tulasso and she is in Severance. Which one of you landed with Apple
TV Plus first? She got Severance, Um, yeah, I think we're
still in la like just coming out of lockdown. So she got that first,
um right around and she was still to film Jurassic World. Oh yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, So she was first. And then obviously
yeah, I told you guys, Yeah, I didn't get it till a
year. I didn't get it on to the last until a year or later.
The two shows are maybe opposite in tone, but one of the things
that they both really hinge on our reveals and surprises and so what's it like
to watch your respective shows with each other knowing that your spouse is going to
be surprised by something a secret that you're holding onto. I mean, I'm
just gratitude first of all. Like I pinched myself, like you're on an
amazing Apple show that like people are excited to talk about, and I'm on
an amazing Apple show that people are excited to talk about. We just go
like we just try to remain like grateful and happy and we pinch ourselves and
it's fantastic. I remember being one ted last and when the show premiered and
then like Jeremy was welcome. Did you guys see that show? Severing's like
I really like it, and I'm like my wife's on it, and he
like his face lit up, like oh really, who is she? You
know She's like, oh my goodness, I love it so much, and
you know, like it was a little bit surreal. Um. We try
not to spoil things for each other, uh, you know, like I
tried not to. I mean, I mean she knew kind of what I
was filming for for Zava. She would stay with me and like, you
know, you come home like, how was your day. I'm not gonna
say, I can't tell you where to tell me everything? And I would
say do you want to know? Or do you want to ruin it for
you? But it still hasn't taken the joy from her, like watching it
on like come together and she yeah, for like, I didn't know.
I didn't know how Severance was ending. So when I saw that, it
was fantastic and I was so happy for her. Um, yeah, and
I'm really excited about season two. I haven't I haven't asked about what the
scripts are doing, you know, I just kind of know when they call
her out when they're filming her, I was like, how's your day is,
like, oh, we have to shoot this thing or something. I
was like, okay, but kind of just want to I don't I want
to be surprised, you know. Yeah, yeah, no spoilers here,
but that that reveal at the end of Separate season one is like one of
my all time faves right now, and I get I guessed so loud.
I couldn't catch my breath. I was like, what, Oh my gosh,
it was Yeah, I'll take that as a compan I am ready.
I am like I feel like they could go so many I've tried to avoid
like reading too much about season two, which there's not a ton anyway,
but I'm like, I they could go so many places. I just want
to come into it like I came into the first season knowing really nothing,
you know, like not knowing what was going to happen, kind of what
the mystery was, and just letting it all kind of like play out.
Yeah, And to piggyback on that question, like what we're really great for
is like Ben Stiller in season one that was like his baby and it lasts
was Jason's baby. Yeah. The fact that we get to work with like
these two guerrillas of of comedy and drama and directing, and you know,
I mean, I know Jason doesn't feel that way but about himself, but
I mean he's he's so talented and multifaceted. You know, he can direct,
he can act, he can write, And they're both like I remember
me and Deach and talking to each other, like they're both very specific and
meticulous about their projects, irrespectively. And you get a sense from that um
and it kind of and everyone else feeds off of that and you kind of
just have to go with the way they work. While it might be very
different, but they're very specific people. And you know, she would tell
me these stories about working with Ben and then I would tell his stories about
working with Jason. I was like, oh my god, these you know,
there's some similarities into it about them, even though they're very different people.
But that's what's probably more crazier than we on Apple shows is that we
get to work with you know, she worked with him, and I got
to work with Jason and Brendan and Brett Like, yeah, it's just spit
lucky, Like I don't know how that works. Yeah, I think this
is true. A lot of Apple TV shows and streaming shows is just like
the handmade sort of nature of the stories that we're just getting to experience as
viewers now, Like it just there's so many Yeah, you're just well you're
just seeing lots of different experiences reflected through the people who write them and who
are working on the shows, and it's it's just like, yeah, everything
feels like we can We've there's so much TV now that we can be more
personal and kind of tell more specific stories, and that's I think it's it's
even it's enrichening that's not a word. It's making the storytelling more rich.
Yeah, it gives you, you know, I think these streamers are allowing
some of these creators to explore deeper, meaningful stories. You know, ted
Lasso's supposed to be a comedy, but it's running at forty five fifteen minutes
now, and is it a comedy? Sometimes it's not a comedy. Yeah.
After season two premier, someone was like, I don't know when ted
Lasso went from a half hour comedy to an hour long drama, but I
hope it wins both awards, like you know something like that. Right,
I think that's nice. I think that's nice. I think, um,
you know, I mean that's that's life. Man. Sometimes life is funny
and then sometimes life is not funny. And I think when it's you know,
I get it while you want to tune into a multicam and just have
a good time. Absolutely, I think shows like this resonate because you have
room to like, like Jamie is great, Like his acting is fantastic and
that you know, like first season you beat him was like, oh,
this guy's kind of a hole. And he has that moment in the locker
room with its father, you know, and then like, holy shit,
you know that resonates with people. You You asked like, what are your
favorite scenes? Like when Ted forgives Rebecca for for that article, that's amazing.
Biscuits, no barbecue sauce, it's on the dark. That scene you
know that you can't really you can't put your thumb on that's like that's a
comedy scene. That's a thing. But you know, when they do choose
to do comedy, it's funny, like episode two when they're all trying to
feel like who's on first? That the locker room bit also is an amazing
to write a book about Trick krim died. Oh my god, that was
the best moment. It's so good. It's Yeah. The project that you
and each and worked together on Agents of Shield probably doesn't get enough credit for
kind of how influential it's been, Like it was the first of the weekly
Marvel shows that then kind of fed into and interacted with the Marvel movies.
To now have wrapped that show and to see everything that all these Marvel shows
have become, what's your kind of reflection on where Marvel's at and the opportunity
that y'all had to be a part of that in the early stages of what
we now know is the Marvel Universe today. I mean, I'm grateful that
that that show. I've done some conventions and stuff and met fans, and
you know, you film a show and you're in a you're kind of in
a bubble. You're on set with the cast, and you go home and
you come back and you're on set with the cast, and you can tend
to kind of forget who you're filming it for and who's watching it and how
they feel about it. And then meeting the fans and just seeing how much
it's meant to them and how much affection they have for these characters, and
like even me, I would surprise me. It means a lot, and
you kind of, you know, I think that's a whole Like a lot
of these Marvel shows are like the world is fantastical. I think part of
the success with some of the shows and the movies is, like, you
know, people can still find a way to relate to them on a human
level, and I think that's what adds to their success. So being a
part of that early Marvel TV show was, you know, it was a
blessing. It filmed in La. So I got to go home and see
my my wife and kid, and I had just had my daughter when I
started on that show. So that job has a lot of special places in
my heart, you know, like a job being on that show getting to
those people, and the creators and the writers did a fantastic job. So
yeah, I'm grateful, and it's exciting to see how it's evolved to the
movies and all the other shows. I mean, what do you how do
you guys feel? Are you guys, are you guys tired of all the
Marvel shows? Is it too much? You know, I always know the
people still respond to the show today if it came out versus when it did.
Yeah, I mean it's kind of different because the seasons are longer and
focuses on a bunch of different characters. But I know for me, like
I have adolescent kids, and whereas not every Marvel movie is for them yet,
Like they're not ready for that yet, right, Agents of Shield and
Agent Carter, like those are great intros into the Marvel world until they are
ready for all of the movies and the more serious show. And so you
know the Agents of Shield and Lost which came before that, those to me
and my experience, were two of the first show that was like, Okay,
we have to figure out how to record this because I don't want to
miss it, Like this is something that I don't want to miss every single
week otherwise I'll be out of the loop. And those were some of the
first shows that, yeah, like you do check out the message boards and
people are talking about what's going to happen. And it was a little bit
different too because the spoilers. Like the Internet, you could talk to a
bunch of people, but the spoilery stuff wasn't leaking as much yet, and
so it really was more community based, whereas now, I know, even
for us until Lasso, like, we're kind of careful. We don't treading
to read it that much anymore because you never know what you're going to find
there, and we do want to experience the show and we try to make
sure that we don't spoil things. Yeah, like I have a sentimental attachment
to Agents of Shield and look forward to now watching it with my kids.
It'll be fun. Well, Max, thank you so much for coming on
the show. It has been such a blast talking to you about your character
and Ted Lasso, and we just so appreciate you man. Thank you,
guys, thank you for having me. I hope but in ran too long,
But I'm flattered. You guys are fans of the show and I'm a
fan of the show too, and it's fantastic to talk about a part that
people are excited about and entertained with. So thank you. We absolutely are
and cannot wait to see where Zava goes this season. So thank you and
take care. Thank you guys, have a good one, and that is
our show. We had a great time chatting with Max about his work on
ted Lasso, as well as some of his other projects. You can find
links to his social media and more in the show notes on our website ted
lassopod dot com. We'll be back soon with more ted Lasso goodness, but
you can keep the conversation going with us on Twitter and Instagram in the meantime.
Our handle on both platforms is at ted Lasso Pod. This episode of
Richmond Till We Die It is brought to you by Gin and Kerosene Productions.
It was produced by Marissa Christian and me. If you're enjoying our show,
please take thirty seconds to subscribe to our feed and give the show a five
star review on Apple Podcasts or a five star rating on Spotify. Heck,
if you're feeling generous, you could even do both. As always, we
appreciate all the ways y'all share your love and support for the pod. Okay,
I'm Brett signing off for Marissa Christian and Maxosinski. Thanks for listening.
Until next time, Cheers y'all. N Core nine