Listen to Brett Goldstein sing on “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock” as new character

"I'm not really a singer," Goldstein confesses. "The only people that are going to get me to sing are 'Fraggle Rock.'"

One of the great joys and truisms of 2020s pop culture is that the man behind foul-mouthed Roy Kent on Ted Lasso is absolutely obsessed with the whimsy of the Muppets and other creations of the Jim Henson Company.

Lucky for him (and us), Brett Goldstein now gets to play in that world as Pryce, a new character whose life collides with the residents of Fraggle Rock. Entertainment Weekly has the exclusive first listen of "This For That," one of two songs Goldstein sings in his season 2 episode of Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock.

"They're so good at songs," Goldstein tells EW of the Henson company composers. "Every song is a banger. I got sent the song. They'd written it; it was done and I just had to learn it. I'm not really a singer, so I was quite nervous about doing a song. The only people that are going to get me to sing are Fraggle Rock. At least you don't have to see my face when I'm doing it."

Of course, the Henson Muppets have a long history of memorable songs (see: "The Rainbow Connection," virtually every number in The Muppet Christmas Carol), but Goldstein says he couldn't think about that track record while he was working. "I was so concerned with getting vaguely a tune out of my mouth that I didn't have enough time to think about the vast legacy you speak of," he adds. "Because had I thought of that, I would've not been able to do any of it."

The opportunity to guest-star on the Apple TV+ series came via Goldstein's meet and greet with The Jim Henson Company. "I had the great honor and privilege of meeting with Brian and Lisa Henson and the execs there," he remembers. "And they were like, 'Is there anything you'd like to do?' And I was like, 'I'll do whatever you want, anything you want.'"

The team then floated the idea of the Fraggle Rock reboot, which Goldstein responded to enthusiastically. And it turned out to be a bit of a full circle moment for the Ted Lasso star. "The very first thing I saw at the cinema ever was when my mom took me to see a special screening at the National Film Theater where they were screening four episodes of Fraggle Rock in a row," he recalls. "That's actually the first thing I saw on the big screen. It's pretty f----ing magical."

Goldstein describes Pryce as a bit of "an aristocrat," and says he developed the character's voice after seeing images of the Muppet and the script.

"I was like, 'Well, maybe he's an eccentric aristocrat, you know what I mean?'" Goldstein muses. "He's left England and gone on these adventures and he's a bit odd. So, his voice is a bit higher and he's posh. But what I like about him is he's excited by everything, and he's curious. Everything is interesting to him, but there's a real innocence to him. Every time he turns his head, there's a new surprise. I feel like he's probably a bit forgetful as well. Everything is new all the time. It's almost like a goldfish."

Pryce accidentally brings some strife to the Fraggles when he introduces a system of bartering to their community, teaching them how to radet with the song "This For That." But after a day of constant exchanges of this for that, the Fraggles realize they don't always want to have to owe something in exchange for something else. Instead, they would rather give things solely out of friendship, teaching Pryce a valuable lesson.

“I love how Fraggle Rock takes on huge issues about ways the world can run," reflects Goldstein. "I believe Jim Henson originally intended the show to be about world peace. So I was delighted to be in an episode that is about a lone explorer learning the power of friendship and community. Sorry to be sincere but it’s true.”

It's too early to say whether Pryce might return to Fraggle Rock, though Goldstein is certainly gung ho to come back. He provided the voice of Pryce only for the episode, and he's eager to learn to perform the puppetry component of the role as well. "I did the voice first, and then they puppeteered it, and then we did another session just to clean it up," he explains. "But the other day I met the puppet, and I did get to play with him and f---, it was great. I was like, 'I would love to come back and this time I want to actually puppeteer him as well.' That's the dream, isn't it?"

Goldstein relays that Pryce was far bigger than he expected, especially in comparison to characters like Elmo on Sesame Street and iconic Muppets Kermit the Frog and Gonzo.

"What I didn't know about Fraggles is they're massive," he adds. "He's f---ing massive. He's really tall. He's probably like half of me. It's much bigger than I thought. And beautiful, beautiful, beautiful craftsmanship. The magic of the Muppets is that as soon as you look them in the eyes, I'm hypnotized. I'm a goner. I immediately buy into it. It's quite magical. The beauty of it is that you [and the performer] buy into it together. Obviously it's a man and a puppet, but I'm all in."

In addition to his stint on Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, Goldstein has also appeared on Sesame Street and he hosted a 30th anniversary celebration of The Muppet Christmas Carol for EW. But he's still got at least one Muppet-related item left on his wish list.

"My dream is to make a Muppet movie," he says. "That would be the thing I would like to do before I die. I have a bucket list with one item on it — it's quite a big one, to be fair."

Goldstein's episode of Fraggle Rock hits AppleTV + on Friday, March 29. Watch the video above for more.

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Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.