Brett Goldstein recalls ‘Shrinking’ showrunner not wanting him to play Louis

Brett Goldstein plays a complex, integral role on Shrinking, but he recalls the doubts surrounding his casting on the show.

During a recent appearance on Vulture’s Good One podcast, Goldstein told host Jesse David Fox about how showrunner Bill Lawrence was not going to cast him as Louis on the Apple TV+ dramedy.

On Shrinking, Louis is responsible for the inciting incident of the entire series: His drunk driving killed protagonist Jimmy’s (Jason Segel) wife. Her death sends Jimmy into a pit of grief and he struggles to show up for their daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell).

Louis serves as a sort of case study on accidental killers and whether people can have empathy for someone who has made a fatal mistake. It’s a tough needle to thread, and Goldstein said he was not going to play the role.

“Jason Segel, it was his idea, called us into his trailer and he said, ‘Why isn’t Brett doing this?'” Goldstein recalled.

Goldstein also shared that Lawrence was not convinced that he was the right man for the job, joking that the showrunner had been open about this fact to various outlets.

“Bill sent me a very sweet text where he said, ‘I believe in you as an artist and if you think you can do this, I will back you and support you,'” Goldstein said. “And I said, ‘Thank you, Bill, that means a lot.’ And he said, ‘But this entire season rests on his character and if you f— it up, you kill Shrinking.’ And I said, ‘Okay, thanks.'”

Luckily, the season was well received, and Lawrence admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that he “almost blew it” by not casting Goldstein in the role. His hesitance was due to the fact that Goldstein had played the gruff Roy Kent on Ted Lasso so convincingly for three seasons, he wasn’t sure how audiences would respond.

When he warmed up to Goldstein’s casting, Lawrence said that he had one condition for the former Ted Lasso star to secure the role: The facial hair had to go.

Listen to the full episode of Good One with guest Brett Goldstein below.