Ted Lasso’s Rex Hayes On Football, Friendship & Finding Their Breakout Role

Ted Lasso returns for its fourth season on Apple TV+ this week, introducing a bold new chapter: a women’s football team at AFC Richmond. The beloved comedy drama – a cultural phenomenon since its 2020 debut – expands its world with a fresh ensemble cast, including new assistant coach Tanya Reynolds and a team made up on Jude Mack, Faye Marsay, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern, plus Welsh actor Rex Hayes in their breakout screen role as Irish footballer Siobhan.

Ahead of the new series, C&TH sat down with Rex to talk their journey from West End theatre to Apple TV+’s biggest stage, why representing women and nonbinary footballers matters, and the rare gift of working alongside their real-life best friend on set.

Rex Hayes: ‘I’ve been a fan of Ted Lasso since it first came out so to now be a part of it is very special.’

Q&A: Rex Hayes On Ted Lasso Season 4

Hi Rex, how’s life going at the moment?

Hiya. Life is good thank you. It’s very chill right now which I’m grateful for.

You are about to star in Ted Lasso season 4 – can you give us an elevator pitch for the show?

Ted’s back in Richmond and this time he’s taking on his biggest challenge yet – a second-division women’s football team.

How does it feel to join such a beloved series, especially as it takes a slightly new direction?

It feels like a dream. I’ve been a fan of the series since it first came out so to now be a part of it is very special. I wanted to be a footballer growing up, but had to stop playing when I wasn’t allowed to play for the boys team anymore and that’s a story you hear so often with women and nonbinary people. I often wonder what would’ve happened if I had the access to football training when I was younger so to find myself now getting to cosplay a professional footballer feels very kismet.

You play Siobhan – how would you describe them?

I can’t say much at all just yet so I’ll give you three words – passionate, caring and intense.

Rex Hayes: ‘Aisling Sharkey [left; who plays their twin] and I hit it off right away and I feel like we had very sibling energy from the get-go.’ (Apple TV)

Once you put the kit, on it feels very real. That’s the luxury of this particular role: once I put the boots on, it was just like I was playing a real game of football.

Did you do anything special to prepare for the role?

We had a football bootcamp before we started shooting which was so much fun. It’s rare to have that much time with your castmates before you get on set, so it was a luxury to become actual friends before playing a team on screen. Those two weeks were essential for us to establish how utterly head over heels we are for each other.

What was the cast dynamic on set?

What was unusual about this job was that usually in between scenes actors head back to their trailers until you’re needed on set again. But we spent all our down time together. We’d sit in a green room and yap away until someone called us to set. Sometimes you had FOMO if you were on set and the others were in the green room! I have an enormous amount of love for those people.

Who was your favourite person to work with?

Everyone on that set, both in the cast and the crew, are the best in the game. I feel very lucky to have worked with and learnt from everyone in front and behind the camera. But honourable mention goes to the actor who plays my twin, Aisling Sharkey. It’s a rare gift of a job where you always have a person to play off in every scene, or you’re in (almost!) every shot together. Aisling and I hit it off right away and I feel like we had very sibling energy from the get-go, so most of the stuff you see of us is real or at least comes from a genuine place of familial love which made the process so fun and I think you can really feel that on screen.

Anything you can tease about season 4?

Absolutely zilch I’m afraid. Sworn to secrecy. Check out the trailer for all the teasers thus far!

Are you a football fan? Who do you support?

I’m a huge football fan, have been most of my life. My mam supports Liverpool and my dad supports Manchester United, so when I started having an interest in football as a kid, they gave me the option of choosing which team I wanted to support. I went with ‘mam’s team’ and have never looked back. LFC till I die. Some of my fondest childhood memories were getting up early to watch Match of the Day with my dad every Sunday morning. It was always a fun morning when Liverpool had beaten United.

Rex Hayes: ‘I have such a rich friendship group and that’s mostly from getting to work with amazing people.’

What has been your favourite project to date?

I mean, going from being a fan of Ted Lasso to being in it has been a career highlight for sure. Making my West End debut in Aaron Sorkin’s To Kill a Mockingbird was another. One of my favourite jobs, though, has to be playing Peter Pan at the Sherman Theatre opposite my real-life best friend who played Wendy. It was such a special time, we had such fun and got to learn how to fly. Pretty cool.

Who has been your favourite actor to work with in the past?

I’ve been lucky enough to work with some real legends in my career thus far: Matthew Modine in To Kill a Mockingbird, Jo McInnes in Coram Boy. But the thing I’m most proud of about my career is that after most of those jobs I’ve come away with a new group of people I get to call my friends. I have such a rich friendship group and that’s mostly from getting to work with amazing people.

What’s your dream role?

I’ve always wanted to give Hamlet a go.

What’s a genre you’d like to do more of?

I’d love to do a comedy horror or thriller. Like a heist film, Snatch-style, but queer. Or something like Parasite, where you’re simultaneously laughing your head off and cowering behind a pillow.

Who is an actor, writer or director you’d love to work with?

Well, I’m a big fan of Bong Joon Ho. Okja is one of my favourite films. I’d love to work with him. I think Ava Pickett is a stunning new voice in British Theatre, I thought 1536 was extraordinary and I’d scrap a man or two to get anywhere near what Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky make next.

Do you get to spend much time at home?

I’m actually speaking to you from my parents’ home in Wales right now. I’m on dog sitting duty whilst they’re away. It’s the 746th heatwave of the summer and me, Billy (a fox red Labrador) and Dobby (a Whippet/Staffy cross) have been snoozing and staying out of the sun.

Rex Hayes: ‘I love being able to disappear in a big city.’

Do you live in the town or the country? Which do you prefer?

I live in London and I’m from Cardiff, so town/city is in my nature. I love being able to disappear in a big city. I think I’d lose my mind if I resided permanently in the countryside. That being said, switching off, leaving the smog and the tube behind for a holiday is very much my cup of tea.

What’s your interior design style?

Somewhere between minimalism and maximalism maybe? Is that a cop out? Definitely lots of colour. Bold primary colours in the living space, then muted tones of orange and green in the bedroom. Little trinkets here and there. But everything has a place, rather than stuffing loads in.

How do you find balance in your personal and work lives?

Lots of walking. Parks, coffee, setting up small routines that ground you back into reality. When work life can be quite loud and intense, the best way to combat that is to do something that takes you out of it and I think mine is walking with my partner. Even if it’s just round the block or our local park, it’s a lovely calming activity. We’re also lucky enough to have a vegetable patch, so watering the leeks and picking courgettes is a great mindfulness activity.

How can we all live a little bit better?

Drink lots of water. Regularly move your body in whatever way feels comfortable for you, whether that’s a morning stretch or dancing in the club. Avoid using AI where you can. Turn off your phone at night, lock social media for a few hours every day. Eat less meat and dairy. Call your parents/siblings/friends and ask them how they’re doing.

Anything fun in the pipeline – professionally or personally?

I’m off to the US very soon for the launch of season 4 which I’m excited for. I’ve never been to LA and I was a teenager when I last visited New York, so I’m excited to explore as an adult. I’m going to eat lots of bagels.

Rex Hayes: ‘Lime bikes are only sexy if you wear a helmet.’

What Rex Is Loving Right Now

I’m currently watching… The Pitt

What I’m reading… Seascraper by Benjamin Wood

The last thing I watched (and loved) was… The final season of Hacks. Can’t think about it without crying. What will I do without it.

What I’m most looking forward to seeing… Cole Escola in Oh Mary! on the West End.

Favourite film of all time… The Incredibles

Favourite song of all time… ‘(They Long To Be) Close To You’ by The Carpenters or ‘This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)’ by Natalie Cole. Songs with parentheses in the title, apparently.

Band/singer I always have on repeat… Ryan Beatty

My ultimate cultural recommendation… A Lime bike after sunset on a hot day. Romance. It’s only sexy if you wear a helmet though, please.

Cultural guilty pleasure… ASMR. I don’t know why someone tapping a block of wood sends me to sleep, but it does.

Rex Hayes stars in Ted Lasso season 4, kicking off tomorrow, Wednesday 5 August, on Apple TV.

Credits

• Photographer: David Reiss
• Styling: Luci Ellis (Cardigan and jeans by Percival, shoes by Steve Madden)
• Grooming: Terri Capon