Jason Sudeikis gave Justin Bieber acting coaching before World Cup performance
Jason Sudeikis has revealed the acting advice he gave Justin Bieber during rehearsals for the 2026 Fifa World Cup final halftime show, where the pair appeared together in a Ted Lasso sketch.
Jason Sudeikis has revealed he gave Justin Bieber an acting tip before the singer’s headline performance at the 2026 Fifa World Cup final halftime show.
Describing the pop star as a “very coachable young man” after the pair reunited on stage in character as Ted Lasso, actor Jason, 50, reflected on his appearance at the 2026 Fifa World Cup final halftime show during the A Lot More podcast with Jonathan Buckley.
The star reprised his Emmy-winning role as Ted Lasso at the event alongside Brendan Hunt, who returned as Coach Beard, to introduce Justin Bieber, 32, before the singer performed his song Everything Hallelujah.
The appearance coincides with the return of Ted Lasso for its fourth season on Apple TV+, with the acclaimed comedy once again following Ted as he returns to Richmond to coach a second-division women’s football team.
Since premiering in 2020, the series has become one of Apple TV+’s biggest global successes, winning 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes. Justin, meanwhile, has remained in the spotlight following the release of his latest music and his World Cup performance, marking another major live appearance for the Grammy-winning artist.
Asked by Jonathan whether he was a “Belieber”, Jason replied: “100 percent.”
He added: “Yeah, man, I love that kid. I got to meet him, ages ago, when he hosted and was a musical guest at SNL.
“We did some sketches. I bump into him every couple times a year, one thing or another.
“I think the world of him.”
Jason said introducing Justin before tens of thousands of supporters at the World Cup final was a memorable experience, but added one of his favourite moments came during rehearsals.
He said: “When we did the first run through, (I) just gave him one little acting note.
“And I was just like, ‘Just come in. Don’t even look at me. Just come in like the way the men and women do when they’re coming in. And they’re just focused and just stay. Get eye of the tiger, you got work to do’.”
Jason added: “I mean, the kid took the note just like that.
“Very coachable young man.”
Before Justin’s performance, Jason and Brendan appeared back-to-back in character while Brendan held up a sign reading “Beliebe”, with “JB” written beneath it.
Jason revealed on the podcast the idea for the sign came from Brendan.
He said: “(Brendan) texted (the idea) to me, he goes, ‘What if we do the believe sign that says Believe?’
“It made me laugh. It’s such a pure idea that it made me emotional when I received that. I was like, ‘Dude, that is killer’.”
Jason joked: “My only regret is that I didn’t snake that sign and get Justin to sign it and hang it up in the house.”
The fourth season of Ted Lasso premieres globally on 5 August, with new episodes released weekly through 7 October.
The official synopsis says Ted returns to Richmond “taking on his biggest challenge yet: coaching a second division women’s football team”.
It adds: “Throughout the course of the season, Ted and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never thought they would.”
Alongside Jason and Brendan, the series also stars Brett Goldstein, Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple, who all return for the new season.
