Brendan Hunt is an actor, writer, and executive producer of the hit series Ted Lasso, where he plays the role of Coach Beard. He co-created the character while working on NBC Sports shorts, which also featured Jason Sudeikis as the titular character. Hunt’s soccer knowledge came in handy during his time in Amsterdam, where he taught Sudeikis about the sport and played FIFA on PlayStation during breaks from their improv gigs.
Hunt has a background in theater and comedy, having starred in his own one-man show about his experiences living abroad and in Absolutely Filthy, a play based on the character Pig Pen from Peanuts. He has also made appearances in popular television shows such as Key & Peele, Reno 911!, Community, and Parks and Recreation, and starred alongside Sudeikis in Horrible Bosses 2 and We’re the Millers.
Brendan Hunt Ted Lasso Season 1 Speech
One of Hunt’s favorite moments on Ted Lasso is the season 1 speech given by the title character at the dartboard, where he encourages everyone to be curious rather than judgmental. The speech resonates with Hunt because it reminds him that anger is not always worth it and that it can be harmful.
Hunt recently appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy! where he earned the highest Coryat score, excluding wagers, in the entire series with a total of $35,600. Looking to the future, Hunt joked about the possibility of a spin-off series featuring Coach Beard starting a new band that travels to different tropical locations in each episode.
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Nick Mohammed as Nathan “Nate the Great” Shelley
Nick Mohammed is an accomplished actor and comedian who gained international fame with his role as Nathan “Nate the Great” Shelley in the hit series Ted Lasso. However, he has been a beloved figure in the UK comedy scene for over a decade.
Despite his successful career in comedy, Mohammed’s early interests were in music and magic. He studied violin and piano as a child and became a professional magician at the age of 16. He later served as president of the Bradford Magic Circle for the 2008-2009 period and still performs with the group.
Mohammed went on to study geophysics at Durham University, where he was rejected from the school’s sketch comedy troupe, the Durham Revue. However, he joined the Footlights theater troupe while studying for his seismology Ph.D. at Cambridge University’s Magdalene College. He began performing gigs on tour with the group and later ventured into solo performances, including a one-man show at The Fringe Festival in 2005 called Back In Town Again: – Waltzing out of town.
Ted Lasso Nick Mohammed Films and Roles
Despite performing for just three audience members, one was an agent who Mohammed still works with today. He has since performed several more solo shows at the festival, including The Forer Factor (2006), 4uarters (2007), Nick Mohammed Is A Character Comedian (2008), and Apollo 21 (2009).
After signing with his agent, Mohammed began working in television with roles in series such as Life’s Too Short and The King Is Dead, as well as in the sketch show Sorry I’ve Got Not Head. He also worked in radio on BBC Radio 4’s Quarters and Nick Mohammed In Bits.
Mohammed’s first mainstream feature film debut came in 2015’s The Martian as Tim Grimes, followed by Bridget Jones’ Baby a year later. In 2018, he voiced Piglet in Disney’s live-action Christopher Robin. However, his breakthrough role came in 2020, when he not only starred as Nate in Ted Lasso but also co-starred with Friends star David Schwimmer in Intelligence on Sky One. A second season of Intelligence aired in 2021. Mohammed will next appear as a wise-cracking cop in Maggie Moore(s) with Tina Fey and Jon Hamm, according to Deadline.
Despite living in London’s Richmond neighborhood, where Ted Lasso is based, Mohammed did not move there for the series. He has expressed gratitude for the global fame he has received from the show but admits it has taken some getting used to.
Mohammed found Nate’s arc in Ted Lasso challenging yet fulfilling. In Season 2, there were fewer jokes written for Nate and more emotionally driven plots, leading to a more dramatic performance. He also enjoyed playing the role of the villain in the series, despite the challenges it presented. Mohammed is looking forward to continuing his role in Ted Lasso and his upcoming projects.
Phil Dunster as Jamie Tartt
Phil Dunster, who plays Jamie Tartt in Ted Lasso, originally had dreams of becoming a rugby player while growing up in Northampton, U.K. However, he quickly realized that he was too small and lightweight both mentally and physically to make it at that level. Dunster then considered joining the military, like his father and older brother, but that changed when he was 16 and discovered his passion for acting in a radio play. He received his first professional screen credit in the 2013 film The Film-Maker’s Son and went on to graduate with an acting degree from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School the following year.
Dunster has appeared in several films, including Megan Leavey, Murder on the Orient Express, Judy, and The Good Liar, as well as in the U.K. series Humans and Strike Back. Prior to Ted Lasso, his only comedy experience was in two episodes of Catastrophe.
For his role as Jamie Tartt, Dunster decided to give the character a Manchester accent, which he credits in part to his girlfriend’s mother, who is from Manchester, as well as to brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis. He describes the accent as “quite nasally” and “quick,” and notes that it reflects the character’s inner-city attitude. Despite his initial concerns about his girlfriend’s family disowning him for his portrayal of the accent, they were actually a part of his cultural references for the role.
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Toheeb Jimoh as Sam Obisanya
Toheeb Jimoh is the actor who plays the role of Sam Obisanya, the star midfielder, on the hit series Ted Lasso. In the second season, Jimoh’s character had a significant breakthrough as he pursued a romantic relationship with Rebecca, played by Hannah Waddingham. Despite their differences in age and race, the series portrayed them as individuals, and those differences became irrelevant. Jimoh expressed his thoughts on this to Deadline, saying, “Who they are as people is the most important thing.”
Jimoh was born in the United Kingdom but moved to Nigeria as a baby. He returned to London’s Brixton neighborhood at the age of seven. His character, Sam, was initially written as being from Ghana, but it was later changed to match Jimoh’s Nigerian heritage.
Short bio on Toheeb Jimoh
Jimoh discussed his identity as a Black British person with British GQ, saying that some people diminish his Britishness while others perceive him as British due to his accent when he is in Nigeria. He also noted that he identifies with the resurgence of people who consider being Black British as a unique identity.
Before his breakout role in Ted Lasso, Jimoh played the part of Anthony Walker in the 2020 film Anthony. The film is a reimagining of Walker’s life had he not been murdered in a racist attack in 2005. Following that, he acted in The Feed on Prime Video before landing the role of Sam on Ted Lasso, which made him a star in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Aside from acting, Jimoh is also a soccer enthusiast who plays the game in real life. Fans of Ted Lasso have even spotted him playing soccer with his friends, and Jimoh said that they watch him play to see if the stunts on the show are computer-generated or real. Despite this attention, he has expressed appreciation for the support he receives from Ted Lasso viewers, saying that they are “heartwarming people who just want to show your love and they’re proud of your journey.”
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Cristo Fernández as Dani Rojas
Cristo Fernández is not just an actor who plays a soccer player on Ted Lasso, but a former professional footballer himself. He began his career with the Guadalajara Estudiantes Tecos Club in the Mexican League at the young age of 15. However, an injury abruptly ended his promising career, forcing him to switch gears.
Fernández’s family noted his deep passion for soccer, with his grandmother and mother remarking that “soccer was literally his life.” As a result, he pursued screenwriting at the University of Guadalajara and started acting in his own projects due to a lack of available actors. He eventually began acting in other students’ films as well. After completing his studies, he moved to England to obtain his master’s degree and supported himself by working as a bartender. Although he acted in small independent films, he found it difficult to obtain significant acting roles in the United Kingdom until he landed the part of Dani Rojas in Ted Lasso.
In an interview with NBC, Fernández admitted that prior to Ted Lasso, he had difficulty booking professional acting jobs in England due to the absence of roles for Mexicans. Consequently, he had to devise script concepts centered on a Mexican living in the United Kingdom.
Fernández has developed close relationships with his colleagues on the Ted Lasso set, particularly with Jason Sudeikis, who plays the titular character. He described the cast and crew as a “family,” and praised the environment they cultivate on set. In an interview with PEOPLE, he hinted that fans could expect an outstanding season three of the show, noting that it was “worth the wait.”
Sarah Niles as Dr. Sharon Fieldstone
Sarah Niles, who portrayed sports psychologist Dr. Sharon Fieldstone in Ted Lasso Season 2, received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress. However, it wasn’t the first time she’d appeared in a critically acclaimed series. She starred in three episodes of Micaela Coel’s I May Destroy You as Officer Funmi, appeared in The Sandman as Rosemary, and in 2022, starred in the drama series Riches.
Despite being a superb foil for the title character on the show, Niles was actually a late convert to Ted Lasso. Her agent approached her during the COVID-19 pandemic to star in Season 2, and she had not seen the first season before. However, after watching the show, she was determined to get the job.
Niles revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that her character’s relative stoicism proved to be a challenge when juxtaposed with Ted Lasso’s constant cheer, calling Dr. Fieldstone “one of the hardest roles” she ever played — but well worth it. “I love that character, and she’s taught me to trust in myself, warts and all,” she said. “I feel like there’s so much more I can do, and I’m really excited.”
Jeremy Swift as Leslie Higgins
Jeremy Swift, who plays Leslie Higgins in Ted Lasso, is known for his comedic timing and endearing character on the show. However, before joining the cast of Ted Lasso, Swift played a more stern character as butler Septimus Spratt in the popular series Downton Abbey.
Despite playing vastly different roles in both shows, Swift enjoys the challenge of portraying various characters and is pleased when fans don’t recognize him from one role to the next. “I love that because I love characters. That’s what I love to do,” he explained to Vulture.
Interestingly, Swift’s real-life wife, Mary Roscoe, also appears in Ted Lasso as Julie Higgins, the wife of his character. Roscoe initially auditioned for a minor role called Old Lady but didn’t get the part. However, a few weeks later, show creator Bill Lawrence asked Swift if he had worked with his wife before and if they got along. “I was trying to play it cool, like, ‘Oh yeah, whatever, catch you later.’ But inside I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing!'” Swift recalled to Vulture.