Where Else You've Seen The Cast Of Ted Lasso
Although it may have shocked many with its massive success, 2020's Apple TV+ soccer series Ted Lasso has grown to become arguably the streaming service's biggest hit to date. The show follows nice-guy college football coach, Ted Lasso, played with irresistible charm by Saturday Night Live great Jason Sudeikis, as he crosses the pond to coach (and simultaneously learn) soccer in the notoriously intense English Premier League. The show is a genuine delight, boasting an incredibly uplifting story with impossible-to-not-like characters.
With a sterling reception from both critics and audiences alike, it's no surprise that the show was recently renewed for a third season. This means that its talented cast will be kept busy for at least a couple more years. Aside from Sudeikis, however, the Lasso crew is relatively unknown, at least to American viewers. It features a wide variety of predominantly British performers, ranging from Downton Abbey alums to former supermodels. Although they might be new faces to you, let's take a look at where you could have seen the stars of Ted Lasso before.
Jason Sudeikis brings Coach Lasso to life
Since saying farewell to SNL's Studio 8H in 2013, American funnyman Jason Sudeikis has seemingly been everywhere. Capitalizing on his strong comedy background, the Horrible Bosses actor has starred in movies like 2013's hilarious We're the Millers, 2016's Zach Galifianakis-led Masterminds, and 2019's Golden-Globe nominated Booksmart. He also voiced Red, the all-too-easily irritated leading bird in The Angry Birds movies.
Although he's played a plethora of different characters throughout his acting career, Sudeikis has a very special place in his heart for Ted Lasso. When speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the Virginian actor, fresh off his first-ever Globe nomination for Lasso, talked about how playing the new fan-favorite role is a positive experience: "Ted does see the best in people and he really is the best version of myself. He's like me after two beers on an empty stomach on a bright sunny day, just like, 'With all of us together, what can't we do?'" During such a tough pandemic year, Sudeikis' Lasso was able to provide a little optimism for viewers in a time when they perhaps needed it most.
It'd be a "shame" to not recall Hannah Waddingham in Game of Thrones
In Ted Lasso, Hannah Waddingham plays Rebecca Welton, a scorned divorcée who acquired ownership of her uber-rich ex-husband's favorite football team, AFC Richmond, in a messy divorce settlement. In an attempt to exact vengeance on her ex, Rebecca secretly plots to run his team into the ground, hiring completely unqualified American collegiate football coach, Ted Lasso, as the new club manager. Over the course of the show's first season, Waddingham gives a magnificent performance that really provides great depth and vulnerability to Rebecca, so much so that she becomes one of the show's best characters.
Before Lasso, Waddingham appeared in a few small roles in big movies, such as 2008's How to Lose Friends & Alienate People and 2012's Les Misérables remake. She also plays Sofia, one of Jackson Marchetti's mothers, in Netflix' British dramedy series, Sex Education. While all of those roles are relatively under the radar, the English actress actually starred in one of the most popular TV series of all time, and you probably didn't even recognize her due to her wardrobe. In HBO's Game of Thrones, Waddingham played Septa Unella, the rigorous disciple of the High Sparrow who torturously tried to force Queen Cersei to admit to her sins. She's perhaps more commonly known as "The Shame Nun." While her Thrones character definitely didn't have a happy ending, Waddingham's Rebecca seems to be on the right track.
Brendan Hunt has teamed up with Sudekis before
Also making the change from American football to fútbol is Lasso's right-hand man, Assistant Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), the more grounded strategist of the duo. It is Beard who actually reads the books on soccer and bothers learning about the game, as well as about British culture. He's kind of like the scarecrow to Ted's Dorothy in the magical kingdom of Richmond.
Hunt, who is actually one of Lasso's writers and co-creators as well as one of its stars, is no stranger to comedy. He's appeared in a few episodes of Comedy Central's Emmy-winning sketch comedy show, Key and Peele, and also played Frank in ABC's Dax Shepard-led sitcom, Bless This Mess. Astute-eared gamers might even recognize his voice as Travis Miles in 2015's Fallout 4.
If you think that Lasso and Beard have amazing chemistry on the pitch and in the locker room, it's because this isn't the first time Sudeikis and Hunt have shared the screen together. Hunt had small roles in both 2013's We're the Millers and 2014's Horrible Bosses 2, two of Sudeikis' most well-known films. Perhaps it's this history that makes Beard and Ted such a believable tag-team.
Atonement's Juno Temple is all grown up now
In 2013, English actress Juno Temple won the BAFTA's prestigious Rising Star Award, joining the ranks of notable previous winners like James McAvoy, Kristen Stewart and even Tom Hardy. Given her outstanding teenage performances as Cate Blanchett's daughter, Polly, in 2006's Notes on a Scandal, and as Lola in 2007's Atonement, Temple was well worthy of the rising star moniker.
Since 2013, the Year One starlet has continued to expand her range in film. She's starred in lighthearted kids' movies, playing the pixie Thistletwit in Disney's Maleficent franchise, while also taking on darker, more serious roles in films like Johnny Depp's Whitey Bulger biopic, Black Mass. Nowadays, you can see her shine as the spunky cockney supermodel, Keeley Jones, on Ted Lasso.
Temple is irresistibly charming as Keeley, and is truly one of the show's strongest characters. In an interview with FandomWire, she dished about how much she enjoys her Lasso role: "I love playing Keeley, I think she's a really badass chick. I felt really uplifted after playing her." Fans can't wait to see what season 2 has in store for Keeley and her new boyfriend, aging soccer star Roy Kent.
Brett Goldstein went from SuperBob to superstar
Unless you're from the UK, there's a very good chance that you've never seen Brett Goldstein, who plays AFC Richmond's grizzled veteran captain, Roy Kent. However, Goldstein has actually amassed a pretty solid following for playing unsuspecting superhero Bob in the quirky 2015 British comedy, SuperBob, a film he co-wrote. He also starred as Tom, the lovestruck member of the Merchant Navy, in Ricky Gervais' Golden Globe-nominated comedy series, Derek.
On Lasso, the English actor really gets to showcase all facets of his abilities, both on the screen and as one of the show's writers. His depiction of a fading athlete with a secret heart of gold feels as though it was custom made for him...which, as it turns out, it kind of was! When speaking to Vulture, Goldstein opened up about how, on the night before the last day in the writers' room, he worked up the courage to pitch himself for the role. "I [recorded a tape], five scenes as Roy, without telling anyone, and then I sent an email," he recalled. "And then very luckily it all went ahead." In hindsight, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Roy.
Nick Mohammed used to be a professional magician
When Coaches Lasso and Beard arrive in Richmond, the first person they meet is the club's timid equipment manager, Nate "The Great" Shelley, played by British actor and improv comic Nick Mohammed. He and the coaches immediately hit it off, and as the season progresses, Lasso helps Nate blossom into a well-respected member of the team.
Mohammed is perhaps most recognizable from playing NASA analyst Tim Grimes in 2015's Oscar-nominated sci-fi survival story, The Martian. However, he's also popped up in a slew of other projects over the years, including 2016's rom-com sequel, Bridget Jones's Baby, and 2019's kid-friendly action flick, The Kid Who Would Be King. He even voiced Winnie the Pooh's iconic bumbling buddy, Piglet, in 2018's live-action Christopher Robin.
Today the very talented comedian is mostly known for being an actor, but for years Mohammed brought joy to audiences in a slightly different manner: as a magician. "I still adore magic and do it as a hobby," he explained. "I stopped doing it professionally once comedy and acting properly took over. But I always used to sneak a bit of comedy into that." Perhaps that's why Nate the Great has such a magical presence in the AFC Richmond locker room.
Phil Dunster is an award-nominated stage actor
To play unapologetically arrogant footie-phenom Jamie Tartt ("doo-doo-doo-doo"), English actor Phil Dunster jokes that he didn't really have to get into character. "Jamie doesn't really have a filter of social niceties, but he was such an absolute treat to play because he's audacious, ridiculous and flamboyant, in his own way." By the end of season one, Coach Lasso was seemingly able to spark a change in the young superstar athlete, so viewers are excited to see how that plays out in the coming seasons.
While Dunster's cinematic career is still in its early stages, he's not without at least a couple movie credits to his name. He popped up in 2017's dramatic soldier biopic, Megan Leavey, as well as in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Agatha Christie's timeless murder-mystery, Murder on the Orient Express. The young actor's real forte, however, is on stage. In 2016, he was nominated for the highly-respected Olivier Award for his performance in the Bush Theater's production of Pink Mist. Perhaps it's this extensive stage background that helps him give such depth to an unlikable jerk like Jamie Tartt on Ted Lasso.
Jeremy Swift was Spratt on Downton Abbey
On Ted Lasso, Jeremy Swift plays Higgins, a longtime pillar of AFC Richmond's upper office. For years, he kind of acted as secretary to the club's playboy owner, Rupert Mannion, even helping him arrange extramarital meetups with various women. Once Rupert's ex-wife, Rebecca, becomes his boss, however, she keeps Higgins on staff and forces him to help destroy the team. As Swift told FandomWire, "He's a character stuck between a rock and a hard place, he has to do this because he's got a whole bunch of kids, so he's a little bit trapped by circumstances."
Lasso fans quite possibly recognize the English actor for a ton of other roles he's played throughout his long-running acting career. In 2013, he landed the role of Septimus Spratt, Violet Crawley's personal butler, on Downton Abbey, a role he'd go on to reprise for three seasons. He's also popped up in a couple of blockbuster movies, including as Vassily Bolotnikov in 2015's Jupiter Ascending, and as snooty bank lawyer Hamilton Gooding in 2018's long-awaited, supercalifragilistic sequel, Mary Poppins Returns. It'll be interesting to see how Higgins' role in Lasso changes now that he and Rebecca are finally and firmly on #TeamTed.
Toheeb Jimoh is a young star on the rise
Perhaps the greenest member of the Lasso cast is British actor Toheeb Jimoh, who plays lovable Nigerian Richmond defender Sam Obisanya. The young star's breakout role came as real-life British murder victim Anthony Walker, in BBC One's 2020 docudrama Anthony. When speaking to the BBC, Jimoh discussed how Walker's heartbreaking story should be a talking point in today's society. "I think this story has the capacity to change people," he said. "Especially now, at a time where we are re-examining our relationship with racism in this country, stories like this are vital."
Aside from playing Walker, Jimoh has a very limited resume up to this point in his career. His only other really notable credit is for playing Marcus in Amazon Prime's sci-fi series, The Feed. Still, the future looks bright for the promising up-and-comer, as he is part of the cast in Wes Anderson's highly-anticipated upcoming feature film, The French Dispatch, and will also appear in another Amazon sci-fi project, The Power.
Anthony Head was Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Watcher
Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer undoubtedly identified Anthony Head, who plays AFC Richmond's former owner Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso, as Rupert Giles, Buffy's Watcher in the Golden Globe-nominated fantasy series. However, the Rupert he plays in Lasso is very different from Buffy's G-Man; he's now a mustache-twisting, rich a-hole hell-bent on taking down his ex-wife, Rebecca. Head really is terrific as the show's primary antagonist, if you want to call him that.
Compared to his Lasso co-stars, the well-respected British actor may be the most experienced performer in the ensemble. He's been "in the biz" for over 40 years, with his first acting credit coming in 1978's WWII series, Enemy at the Door. Throughout his decades-spanning career, Head has starred on both the big screen and the small, ranging from roles in tentpole movies like 2011's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance to parts on TV series like Amazon Prime's Jack Ryan. Anthony Head's resume proves that he can do it all.
Keeley Hazell is a British model-turned-actress
In the early 2000s, British bombshell Keeley Hazell was seemingly everywhere. She was one of the top glamour models in the world, perhaps most notorious for her risqué photos that graced the "Page Three" section of longtime British tabloid The Sun. With her newfound fame, Hazell moved to LA to study acting in 2009.
In 2011, the model-turned-actress got her first real acting break alongside Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence in the romantic drama Like Crazy. She would later land the role of Violet, a maid in the royal palace, on E!'s The Royals. As fate would have it, the biggest movie Hazell ever popped up in was actually Horrible Bosses 2, where she starred alongside future Lasso co-stars Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt. On the show itself, she's Bex, the current young flame of AFC Richmond's former owner, Rupert Mannion. "Bex" is short for Rebecca — also the name of Rupert's ex-wife, which does not go over well.
When recently asked about the future of her acting career, Hazell playfully pitched herself for an iconic British role. "Maybe playing Bond — I could see myself as the new 007." Should we add her to the list of Brits who could make an awesome female Bond? Why not.