Jason Sudeikis has found playing Ted Lasso has had a positive effect on his life

Jason Sudeikis was "saved" by Ted Lasso.

The 50-year-old actor portrays the titular soccer coach in Apple TV+'s comedy series and he admitted it has been good for him to spend so much time playing someone with such a positive outlook on life.

Discussing how he'd respond to fans who told him how much the series meant to them by saying it had "saved [him] too", he told The Hollywood Reporter: “It is infectious to play a character who sees the best in people and isn’t mad at the world for all its foibles and bullies and shadows.

“It’s not like I’m Daniel Day-Lewis, but it was good to live in that — to have that coursing through your brain and your body all day. It still is.”

Ted Lasso was originally planned as a three-season story, but it is set to return next month for a fourth series, this time with the focus on the Richmond ladies side.

But Jason - who co-created and writes the show - was initially unsure he wanted to come back, even though he was earning $1 million per episode, because he felt it had ended in the right way.

He said: "That wasn’t a negotiation tactic. The story was told.

"Ted went home to be with his son. I wasn’t going to have Ted uproot their life to justify the money truck. It made no sense to me.”

But ultimately, the award-winning star is thankful he found a way back.

He said: “I know I needed this. I needed it as much as other people do.”