“He Absolutely Had a Crush on Ted” Ted Lasso’s James Lance Dives Deep into Trent Crimm

After a staggeringly successful three-season run on Apple TV+, Ted Lasso has finally come to a close. Among season three’s standout characters was James Lance’s Trent Crimm, who was bumped up to a series regular after stealing scenes as a whip-smart journalist with an enviable head of hair. Culturess had the opportunity to catch up with James Lance in the wake of the series finale, where we talked all things Trent: his past, his future, his home life, and his possible romantic feelings for Ted.

(The following interview has been edited for length and clarity)

Culturess: I wanted to start by asking—how are you? How does it feel for having a show you worked on for so long be out in the world in its entirety?

James Lance:  I feel good, you know, I feel good. That said, I feel a bit like I’ve just got off a really big roller coaster, one that was going on for three years and I’m just learning how to walk after that ride. My feet aren’t quite tucked in the ground properly.

Especially after the last episode went out, because it was so full of goodbyes. You could just feel the goodbye of it all.

Culturess: So the team has all said their goodbyes on the show. Has the cast and crew of Ted Lasso said goodbye as well? Are you guys parting ways, or do you think you’ll stay in contact?

JL: Oh, we’re staying in contact. Without a doubt, I’ve made some amazing friends on this show. in fact, I was just hanging out with Billy Harris just now— we just had lunch together, which was really cool.

I’m an honorary member I guess, now, of AFC Richmond. I’m a diamond dog too! So I guess I can say that I’m sort of “in” the gang. Lots of amazing relationships have been formed.

Culturess: I’m so happy to hear that! Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention and send along all the love and gratitude from fans online. I know you’re not super plugged into the internet, but there are entire forums out there dedicated to Trent. There’s a podcast where every episode is just breaking down what Trent did in that week’s Ted Lasso.

JL: Are you serious?

Culturess: It’s called the “Crimmcast.“

JL: Nobody’s told me that! That’s nuts! The “Crimmcast?”

Culturess: Yeah. I’m sure they’ll be delighted to know that you now know it exists. But yes—people feel so just seen. As a gay journalist with anxiety, I’ve never been more represented on television. So thank you for that character.

JL: Well, I can’t take, obviously, full acceptance of your gratitude because I didn’t write the character. But to bring Trent to life and to bring all the these elements out—I love that you mentioned, having anxiety and all of that. I feel honored to sort of represent you in that way.

I really, really, really, really do. It was a huge privilege. It was such an amazing invitation to play Trent and specifically, I guess by the time he gets into the kind of space where he can become a safe haven for Colin and to go on that journey— from  episode one to where end up, on the Homomonument in Amsterdam.

That’s what I mean about the ride—that’s quite a ride to go on, and for Trent to have kind of shedded his many, personas. He sheds a few identities, they’re all kind of protective, and then he sheds his journalistic ethics because he wants to be a human more than he wants the profession.

And I love that when he did that season two, it’s like he just blows his career up because he wants to look after a lovely human being, i.e. Ted. So it’s amazing to play a character that has the ability to evolve and to do the right thing.

Culturess: I guess I’ve have always viewed Trent as  the human embodiment of the Lasso Way, of Ted’s magic. Because you see him in the premiere, the way he’s presented is like the ultimate cynic. So why do you think that Ted’s methodology and his approach to life struck a chord with Trent so deeply?

JL: It happened in episode three of season one, and it happens during the day that Trent spends with Ted where he starts off this mission to completely eviscerate this, clown basically. “How dare this American come and manage this English football team. I’m gonna completely destroy him.” But of course, what happens is he sees a human being emanating love ,and he sees the effect that has on everyone that he comes into contact with, and Trent is like, buffering. He’s like, “Hold on.” He’s struggling with that, which is sort of personified in the scene in the Indian restaurant.

That’s the moment where Ted completely cracks Trent open. I had a very strong belief in what Trent’s back story was, which was that he had a very tough dad, the oppressive father who wanted his son to be this alpha male, a man’s man, that kind of thing.

Basically, he wanted Roy Kent for a son, and Trent Crimm is not Roy Kent. And he couldn’t cope with it—he was also gay, and that was also something that, didn’t fall into line with what his father wanted for him. When Ted says at that meal: “It’s not about the winning or losing. It’s about these young boys becoming the best versions of themselves as he both on and off the pitch, and it ain’t always easy, especially when you’ve had a tough childhood.”

If you could have heard what happened inside Trent, I think his heart just went and (he mimes an explosion). The plug was pulled in terms of him taking Ted down. Suddenly, everything just fell. He doesn’t know what to do with it, you know, he’s like,  “I wanna attack it, but I like it. Oh God, you’re nicer to me than my dad. Ah fuck. I’ve got to run out of this restaurant. I don’t want dessert.” Trent goes home and he’s like “Oh, I’m not taking this guy down. I’m rooting for him.”

Quietly in the background, that spins Trent Crimm’s world into a completely different direction and it unravels all of these layers of defensive coping mechanisms.

Culturess: You mentioned the Roy and Trent dynamic, which was something that really excited me. Roy’s kind of like the gatekeeper of Ted’s world—if you can get past the guarding, you’re in with the group. But what stuck out to me was the role reversal—this gay, bookish, introverted character being cornered in a locker room by a burly athletic type. Normally, you’d think it’s the athletic guiding the bullying, but in a sense, Trent’s entire career has been built on tearing this man (Roy) down. What was it like, building that relationship with Brett Goldstein about how Roy and Trent move forward?

JL: It’s interesting because the reason that the reason that Trent took him down in the way that he did back in the day was because, as I’ve mentioned, is that Roy Kent was the son that Trent’s dad wished he had, which pissed Trent off, and he’d been bullied at school, and all that kind of stuff. So this was his opportunity to take out an alpha male.

If Roy Kent had been walking down a university corridor towards Trent, I think Trent would have,  hopped into a cupboard or something. So [writing] that was his way of standing up for himself. It was pain that came out sideways.

But I think Trent Crimm has got an absolute wake of devastation with words that he’s said that have hurt and really unsettled to say the least— words can be really damaging. Ad Trent knows that. He’s built his identity on being a wordsmith, a swordsman.

With Roy, it was time. He was already at a place of being able to own it, to acknowledge it and go, “I’m really sorry and it wasn’t cool, what can I do to make it up?” He was there by the time Roy literally put him in the corner. I think 80% of him was really welcoming it, you know, and just being like, “ok, if you’re gonna hit me, you’re gonna hit me, I deserve it actually.”

So from then on, their relationship seals. from that moment on, they’re good.

Culturess: That’s the beauty of Roy, I think.

JL: I don’t think he’s complicated in that way and, and actually I don’t think Trent is. You can sort of see it in the way I walk out. Like—is that it? Are we done? And Roy’s like yeah, we’re done. It still takes Trent quite a long time, a few more episodes, to get to the point where he can really start to let the character underneath out, which comes much later, when he sees total football work, and he runs up like “It’s going to work!”.

But it took, a long time for him to get there. It’s like when you turn up at a party and you don’t really know what to say. But by the end, you’re in the groove.

Culturess: You’ve spoken at length before about how a conversation with Jason Sudeikis about your personal insights to the character was what led to a larger role on the show. Do you always come up with such intricate backstories for all of your characters or was it just something specific to Trent and to Ted Lasso?

JL: I do come up with backstories. I kind of think that my job is to know whether they make their bed in the morning, whether they wear odd socks, whether they’re Buddhist, whether anything.

When you have an idea for a character, what happens is you start thinking about that character, and why they are the way they are. Their life seems to come towards you in little things, like I’ll hear a piece of music and I’ll go “Oh yeah, Trent is a Midlake fan. He likes this music. But he also loves Dolly Parton, and the Golden Girls is one of his favorite TV shows,” and you build this world.

Then that character, they’re sort of in you, with all your memories. They sort of live quietly in you. And I think that’s what my job is, really. I love it.

Culturess: I have to ask, because people online are dying to know. Colin says he just wants to be able to kiss his fella. Does Trent have a fella at home? Does he have an ex-wife? Does he have a partner? What’s the situation there?

JL: So Trent was in a relationship with a woman a while ago and he has a daughter with that woman. It didn’t work out for obvious reasons, but there’s a lot of love there, and he has this gorgeous daughter. I’ve got a whole world with Trent and his daughter and what he’s up to. But, what I will say is that I felt that in certainly in season three, no, he doesn’t have a relationship. But he is lightly dating.

Culturess: “Lightly dating”. Good for him! Is he on Bantr?

JL: He’s not on Bantr. One thing that I did give Trent— I’m sure I gave Trent lots of things—but  even though he’s in a world of media with being a journalist, I kind of had him as someone who’s not on his phone loads. He’s not really an apps guy, in my opinion.

Culturess: There’s a popular fan reading online that Trent’s interest in Ted, in addition to the professional and aspirational capacity, might be a little bit of a crush, or a romantic one. Is that in your head at all? Or does it surprise you that people are reading it that way?

JL: Well, let me tell you this. Nobody has asked me that question in the whole time that I’ve been doing interviews for this show. But I feel that I am able to tell you what I think about that, and I think that Trent absolutely had a crush on Ted.

Culturess: So many people are going to be happy hear you say that.

JL: Well, I mean, look. Ted Lasso looks a lot like Jason Sudeikis. With that little mustache of his… he’s got it going on, that guy. And you know, Trent recognizes that! You can’t blame him. He’s a sexy guy.

Culturess: Earlier, you mentioned Midlake, Dolly Parton, and Golden Girls. Correct me if I’m wrong here, but a lot of those t-shirts that he wore—and a mug I believe— came from you. Is that right? How did you develop that collaboration with costuming?

JL: The costume designer is this incredible person called Jacky Levy, and Jacky is the kind of costume designer who approaches the work as a conversation. So she’s really interested  in what the actor thinks, which is just a blessing for me because as you know, as you’ve mentioned,I think about it a lot. So I was really clear with influences that I felt that Trent would have.

So Jacky would, would bring in things and we’d throw it all on and we’re like “Yeah, there it is, that’s Trent. There he is.” And then we’d throw other stuff on and go, that’s just not Trent, that’s that’s not it. For instance, I went to a Midlake gig at The Roundhouse, and I just knew, I was like, Trent would love this band. So I went, and bought the tour t-shirt and said “Hey Jackie, what do you think?” And she was like, “let’s see if we can get it in” and then, you know, we did! and we were really, oh, I’m giving you a thumbs up here and then we were really, ah,

Although it didn’t really get shown much in the edit, I always knew that my final t-shirt in AFC Richmond was going to be the Golden Girls t-shirt.

Culturess: And why was that?

JL: I always felt like that was Trent’s favorite t-shirt. And there’s no way on earth he would have come into AFC Richmond at the beginning of the show wearing that. If you look back, he’s wearing a tie and a shirt and he’s still got the old cocoon of the previous incarnation of him. But by the end, he’s in his Golden Girls shirt, because that’s what he wants. That’s what he likes wearing. He’s fully comfortable.

And then the penultimate time you see him in the bookstore in this jumper, which is really bookish and quite colorful, and you’ve never seen Trent wear anything like that before. How I got that was a gorgeous Manon the team called Lawrence was wearing it, and I just saw it and was like “dude, can I steal your t-shirt for Trent?” So we asked Jacky, and we worked it out.

Culturess: At that book signing, we saw a cardboard cutout of Trent. What was it like seeing yourself as a cardboard cutout? And can I have it?

JL: Yeah, there’s a few of them— so they’re around! It was weird, because it was literally life size. I didn’t realize I was quite so big. It was kind of weird.

Culturess: At that book signing, it’s a very clear endpoint for Trent’s trajectory, at least on the show. Where do you picture him going next? Because he’s written the book, but he doesn’t really have a journalism career to fall back on anymore. So what’s next for Trent Crimm?

JL: I had this idea that he was gonna spend quite a bit of time being a dad. Because he’d been around quite a lot with AFC Richmond, and the mother of his child was a bit like, “All right, you’ve been doing all of that for all of this time? Great. Now I’ve got a life and I need to do some stuff.”

So I think it was time for him, and I think he wanted to spend more time with his daughter and kind of like do the childcare. But that said,  I think he’s still on the journey as a writer. I get the feeling that he’d be pretty curious about another deep dive book. I mean, I don’t know, but I think the book does well! I think he makes some money, he does alright. So who knows what he’s gonna get up to? I think the next focus is finding a partner.

All three seasons of Ted Lasso are now streaming on Apple TV+