What You Didn't Know About Jason Sudeikis
Ah, Jason Sudeikis. Saturday Night Live alum, turned mildly memorable movie star, turned recent new owner of a shiny Golden Globe (via Variety). This comedian and actor, who is not hard on the eyes, sure has charmed mass audiences over the years. He may be riding the wave of success now, but he certainly has put a lot of time into his craft. And we're not saying that he isn't a great actor for Hollywood, but his likable and "everyday man" vibe would definitely have blended in if he had chosen to stay in his hometown.
Sudeikis was raised in Overland Park, Kansas. Coincidentally, this is also the same city where fellow charming comedians Paul Rudd and Rob Riggle come from. Perhaps there is something in the water? It appears Overland Park may not have been the most exciting place to grow up. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, good guy Sudekis admits that "speeding was his thing" during his teenage years (via YouTube).
He felt the need for speed
When Kimmel asked how many speeding tickets Sudeikis got as a teenager, he responded, "Maybe in the double digits." In the same interview, he goes on to admit that he ended up getting handcuffed and arrested for not paying a speeding ticket. But, eventually, he was saved by his dad because his dad followed after the police car to bail him out at the station (via YouTube).
And, while on the topic of speeding, Sudeikis's career in comedy started to take speed in Kansas, where he found laughs as an improv comedian at Kansas City's Comedy City. After burning through the small gigs, he went on to become a writer and cast member with the long-running TV series, Saturday Night Live (via Cinema Blend). While some comedians see SNL as the "I've made it" stage in their career, Sudeikis viewed it more as a starting line. "You start at SNL when you're young and hungry, but I don't want my pro years to be my SNL years," he explains (via IMDb).
The character that went from commercial stint to series lead
After Sudeikis's long-running stint on SNL became a thing of his past, he chose to focus on soccer instead. Well, not literally. His first post-SNL job was to portray Ted Lasso, a commercial character who plays an American football coach put in charge of an English Premier League "football" team for the NBC Sports Network (via The Atlantic). Sure, the character was originally meant for a promotional video on the network, but he was so well-liked that Sudeikis co-created and starred in a series based on the character, and appropriately named it Ted Lasso. This is the series that has given him the honor of winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor — Television Series Musical or Comedy (via Variety).
Sudeikis has said the constantly optimistic Lasso was created to be "the best version of himself" (via Yahoo! News). In between growing his award-winning character from a commercial blip to star of a series, the funny actor also found time to star in multiple other movies, such as We're the Millers, Mothers Day, Colossal, and Masterminds (via IMDb).
He's found love twice
Work has surely kept him busy, but it appears Sudeikis was lucky enough to make room for love as well. His first marriage was to writer and director Kay Cannon. Their six year marriage came to an end without any public explanation and lacking any usual Hollywood drama. "But yeah, Jason and I were married when he was a writer on the show. And then he was a cast member. And then we got divorced," Cannon shares unceremoniously about her time with Sudeikis (via The Hollywood Reporter). A year after their divorce, Sudeikis was lucky enough to find love yet again. This time with actor Olivia Wilde. They first met at an SNL after party, but, apparently, Sudeikis didn't make the move for a while. After their first meeting, Wilde claims, "Over the next six months we kept running into each other," she says. Adding that eventually, "[One night], my best guy friend walked up to him and said, 'This is Olivia's number. Use it'" (via Allure).
But unfortunately neither relationship lasted
The initial slow burning romance eventually caught flame and they became engaged after two years of dating (via Allure). But after having two kids together and a nine-year long engagement, things sadly ended between the two. We don't know exactly what went down, or if Wilde's new relationship with singer Harry Styles had anything to do with the split. But, a close source has stated, "Olivia and Jason were broken up as of early 2020. The recent news that she has moved on is no surprise. Olivia and Jason's relationship continues to be focused on their children and co-parenting them" (via People). Despite what may have happened to end the pair's engagement, they are still publicly supportive of each other. In Sudeikis's Golden Globe award acceptance speech, he gives Wilde the credit she deserves, saying, "I want to thank my kids, Otis and Daisy. I want to thank their mom, Otis and Daisy's mom, Olivia, who had the initial idea for this as a TV show," (via Vulture).
As of recent, Sudeikis appears to be focused on co-parenting and continuing to film his hit series, Ted Lasso, in London (via the Daily Mail). Fingers crossed he's adjusting to life as a single Golden Globe winner, and is driving within the speed limit.