Can Ted Lasso Actors Actually Play Soccer?
Fans wonder if the actors are really skilled soccer players or just good at pretending.
While Ted Lasso is most often heralded for its hilarious jokes and comedic segments, which really take the show's feel-good atmosphere to new heights, not enough is said about the series' great depiction of soccer games, all of which are shot and edited with such precision that even sports experts can't tell for sure if the actors are professional players or not.
However, it's pretty obvious that all the main and supporting characters are played by professional actors, not athletes — but that doesn't mean that some of them haven't had experience kicking the ball professionally.
While Jason Sudeikis clearly didn't know anything about soccer growing up in the US, some of his British and international co-stars spent a lot of their childhood playing the game. For example, Cristo Fernández, who portrays Dani Rojas, revealed that he was actually a professional soccer player at one point in his career, playing for Tecos FC, a second-division team in Mexico's Liga MX, for a while before becoming an actor.
The actor's British counterparts may not have the same footballing prowess, but Phil Dunster and Toheeb Jimoh both confessed to spending countless hours of their childhoods playing football, and both dreamed of becoming professional footballers when they grew up.
While their dreams didn't come true, they achieved something even better — playing professional athletes in a world-renowned series.
Kola Bokinni, who stars in the show as team captain Isaac McAdoo, also revealed that he played semi-professional soccer before pursuing acting as a full-time career.
It looks like Ted Lasso has a full cast of experienced players who are doing everything in their power (including constant soccer training) to provide fans with believable and compelling soccer action.
Needless to say, even though some of the actors have played soccer all their lives, they are still not able to perform on the same level as their characters, and the real magic happens during filming and editing, making the audience believe that everything they see is true. But experience still helps!