'Surreal' moment as Welsh actor joins Ted Lasso cast — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Rex Hayes, a Cardiff-based Welsh actor, has been cast in Ted Lasso Season 4 as Siobhan, twin sister to Niamh (played by Aisling Sharkey), with their sibling rivalry sometimes spilling onto the pitch.
- Season 4 marks a dramatic pivot for the show, with Ted returning from Kansas to coach AFC Richmond's second-division women's team, 'The Lady Greyhounds,' described by Rex as 'exactly the same set-up' with 'brand-new footballers.'
- Rex landed the role after submitting a self-recorded football-skills tape made in a London park, telling Radio Wales the casting director remarked, 'you're very good at football' — despite Rex having quit football training at age 12 before 'going off to drama school and forgetting about it.'
- The ensemble retains Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, and Brett Goldstein, joined by new Lady Greyhounds players Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones), Abbie Hern, Jude Mack, and Tanya Reynolds — Rex calls Sharkey 'best mates' offscreen as well as on.
- Rex credits a Welsh-language education, S4C, and the National Eisteddfod as foundational to their career: 'I am under no illusion that going to a Welsh-language school...is a big part of the reason why I now do the job that I do.'
- Rex's character speaks with an Irish accent rather than Welsh — 'You won't meet me with a Welsh accent — my character is Irish,' the actor told Radio Wales — and the new series lands on Apple TV+ on 5 August.
- Rex is set to return to this year's National Eisteddfod in Llandudoch, north Pembrokeshire, to watch their mother sing — 'a lovely passing of the baton,' the actor said, after years of her supporting Rex's own performances.
Why it matters: Season 4 reframes Ted Lasso around AFC Richmond's second-division women's team, an ensemble shift that hands Cardiff actor Rex Hayes a global Apple TV+ showcase alongside returning stars Sudeikis, Waddingham, and Goldstein. The 5 August premiere offers a breakout platform for a performer who explicitly credits Welsh-language schooling, S4C, and the Eisteddfod for the foundation of their career.
Ask SkimNews
