Who is Coach Beard in Ted Lasso?

Show

Ted Lasso

Played by

Brendan Hunt

First episode

“Pilot”Season 1, Episode 1, aired August 14, 2020

Role

Main cast

Network

Apple TV+

Occupation

Assistant coach, AFC Richmond

Show run

2020 to present

Also known as

Willis Beard, Beard

Coach Beard is the man standing next to Ted Lasso on the touchline, saying very little and noticing everything. Played by Brendan Hunt, one of the show's developers, he is Ted's oldest ally in England and one of the series' most delightfully mysterious characters.

On Ted Lasso, Coach Beard's story runs through Ted Lasso (Best Friend), Roy Kent (Fellow Coach), Nate Shelley (Fellow Coach), Leslie Higgins (Fellow Diamond Dog), and Jamie Tartt.

Who is Coach Beard?

Beard is Ted's assistant coach, and he arrives in England with Ted in the very first episode after the two coached American college football together. He comes from Peoria, Illinois, and the show eventually explains that Ted stood by him and helped him get back on his feet after a period of trouble with the law.

Where Ted runs on folksy optimism, Beard is dry, blunt, and intensely focused. He takes to soccer tactics more readily than Ted and often acts as the voice of hard truth on the staff, such as reminding Ted that professional players care a great deal about winning.

Personality and comedy

Beard's comedy runs on understatement: a long stare, a one-word answer, or a surprising bit of expertise dropped into the middle of a conversation. The writers give him a past full of hints and very few explanations, which makes every new detail about him feel like a reward for viewers.

His on-again, off-again relationship with Jane, a London woman he met through chess, is a running thread. The rest of the staff do not always understand the relationship, but Beard is fiercely loyal to her, and the show treats that devotion with real affection.

Key storylines

Season two's "Beard After Hours" gives him an entire episode. After a crushing loss to Manchester City, he spends a long, strange night out in London with Richmond superfans Baz, Jeremy, and Paul, survives a string of misadventures, finds Jane, and still turns up for work the next morning wearing borrowed sequined trousers.

When Nate turns on the club, Beard is the last holdout against forgiving him. In "Mom City," he finally visits Nate, tells him how Ted once helped him at his lowest point, and asks him to come home. At the end of season three Beard stays in England and marries Jane in a ceremony at Stonehenge, and in season four Roy lets him leave the men's team so he can rejoin Ted with Richmond's new women's side.

Behind the scenes

Brendan Hunt plays Beard and is also one of the four people credited with developing Ted Lasso, alongside Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, and Joe Kelly. He has been part of both the cast and the writing team from the start and has co-written several episodes.

Hunt received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2021 for the first season. That same year he shared comedy writing nominations for "Pilot" and "Make Rebecca Great Again," and in 2023 he was nominated again for co-writing the season three finale, "So Long, Farewell."

Coach Beard: frequently asked questions

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