Jason Sudeikis on ‘hitting rock bottom’ and why he wore a hoodie to the Golden Globes

Sitting down with men’s fashion magazine GQ, Jason Sudeikis gave a refreshingly honest interview in which he held nothing back. Speaking candidly about his career, relationships and plans for the future, the actor surprised readers by showing a side to him they’re rarely privy to. 

Known for taking on very specific roles (“jocular blowhards and loud, self-impressed white men”), many have made assumptions about his IRL persona based on those onscreen performances. Realising that it was up to him to “not just play an a-hole in every movie” he starred in, the Fairfax, Virginia native upended things with the arrival of Ted Lasso… and it turns out he’s much more like him than any of the other guys he’s portrayed thus far. 

A character defined by his gentle, pensive nature, Sudeikis aligns himself much more with Lasso than the assumed fraternity guy his reputation suggests. Both normal guys, they’ve had to deal with their fair share of normal (and not-so-normal) troubles too. Joining the world in dealing with the effects of a global pandemic, the Horrible Bosses star has had a bit of a “wild ride of a year” to say the least. 

Only a few months out from his breakup with Olivia Wilde, he admitted that he’s still trying to process the end of their relationship. Together for the guts of almost 10 whole years, the couple called it quits after a seven-year engagement back in November 2020 (as per his timeline, at least).

Not immune to the throes of heartbreak, he pretty much confirmed the age-old cliche in saying that time will be his greatest healer. “I’ll have a better understanding of why in a year and an even better one in two, and an even greater one in five, and it’ll go from being, you know a book of my life to becoming a chapter to a paragraph to a line to a word to a doodle,” he deliberated. 

Getting yet more philosophical still, Sudeikis didn’t shy away from talking about the tough stuff either. Life isn’t always butterflies and rainbows, but mindset is everything according to him. “If you have the opportunity to hit a rock bottom, however you define that, you can become 412 bones or you can land like an Avenger. I personally have chosen to land like an Avenger.” 

Proving himself to be more the optimist than most of us probably gave him credit for, Sudeikis acknowledged that while it’s been “a hard year”, it wasn’t necessarily a bad one. Landing like an Avenger definitely sounds aspirational… which somehow points to it being easier said than done. Reflecting on whether there’s any truth behind such a sentiment, he went on to say, “I don’t know. It’s just how I landed. 

“It doesn’t mean when you blast back up you’re not going to run into a bunch of sh*t and have to, you know, fight things to get back to the heights that you were at, but I’d take that over 412 bones anytime.” 

Not everyone handles things the same way though and the actor was quick to point out that sometimes, broken bones heal even stronger than they were before. “There is power in creating 412 bones. Because we all know that a bone, up to a certain age, when it heals, it heals stronger. So, I mean, it’s not to knock anybody that doesn’t land like an Avenger. Because there’s strength in that too,” he conceded.

Later touching on his Golden Globes acceptance speech, Sudeikis maintained that his outfit choice was down to comfort and comfort alone… in case you don’t recall, the actor won best actor for his portrayal of Ted Lasso – thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the honour via Zoom while wearing a tie-dye hoodie his sister’s clothing company had made.

Jason Sudeikis accepting an award while wearing a tie-dye sweater is a MOOD #GoldenGlobes2021 pic.twitter.com/cQ07MgWRGf

— Erin S (@AerieRocks) March 1, 2021

Why the hoodie? “I wore that hoodie because I didn’t wanna f*cking wear the f*cking top half of a Tom Ford suit,” he said. “I love Tom Ford suits. But it felt weird as sh*t.”

Some suggested that perhaps his chosen look was a reflection of inner turmoil, but he denied this commenting, “I was neither high nor heartbroken.” So, there you have it.

Feature image via @AerieRocks