'Surreal' moment as Welsh actor joins Ted Lasso cast

Rex Hayes has been watching hit comedy series Ted Lasso since it first landed on TV screens in 2020.But now the Cardiff actor is stepping on to "that pitch, in those football boots" as the show returns for a new season."It's very surreal for me to be part of that Richmond world," the actor tells Radio Wales.Season 4 marks a dramatic shift for the show, with Ted returning from Kansas to coach AFC Richmond's second-division women's team, The Lady Greyhounds."It's exactly the same set-up: you meet new people, you fall in love with these characters on, and off, the pitch. There's all the coaching staff that you know and love, but with brand-new footballers," says Rex. "It's very exciting."Joining a cast which includes fan favourites Hannah Waddington, Brett Goldstein and star and co-creator Jason Sudeikis, Rex plays Siobhan, twin sister to Niamh (Aisling Sharkey), whose sibling rivalry sometimes spills on to the pitch."I love this character so much - I can't wait for people to meet her," Rex tells Eleri Sion on The Friday Afternoon Show. "She's very passionate, very silly." A keen footballer from a young age, Rex describes the role as "a crazy matching of both my worlds"."I have been playing football for most of my life," explains Rex. "Just me and my dad, at Heath Park, kicking a ball about, for most of my youth."I played in the school yard every lunchtime until my A levels - me and the boys. It's been a big part of my life for a long time."But after giving up football training at 12, the actor "went off to drama school and forgot about it" - only returning to the pitch after moving to London.Cue, the Ted Lasso audition."I had to send in a tape of my football skills," says Rex, who made a tape in a London park."I remember when I went in for my first meeting, having sent off that tape, Theo - the casting director - was like, 'you're very good at football'. I was like: 'yes, I am - remember that!""And lo and behold, here I am. So I'm very grateful."Rex credits their early years performing in Wales as fundamental to later success."I am under no illusion that going to a Welsh-language school, and being part of the Eisteddfod for most of my youth, is a big part of the reason why I now do the job that I do," says the actor."I am incredibly grateful to the Welsh language, to S4C, and to the Eisteddfod for all of those opportunities."It gave me a platform and taught me a lot of what I know, and what I have taken on for the rest of my career."This weekend Rex will be returning to this year's Eisteddfod, in Llantwd (Llandudoch), north Pembrokeshire, to support their mum."My mam is singing, and this is my first time getting to watch her. "It's a lovely passing of the baton - after all the hours that she put in when I was a kid, watching me on that stage. I will be down [in Wales] and I really can't wait."Sadly, though, we won't be hearing any Welsh in Ted Lasso."You won't meet me with a Welsh accent - my character is Irish," says Rex.Nonetheless, the actor hopes fans will embrace the show's new female football team."I would ask audiences to meet us [the new cast] the same way you met the men's team - with open hearts, in the way that Ted Lasso meets everyone."One of my favourite quotes from the show is: 'be curious, not judgemental'. That's my ethos for anyone meeting the show this season.""It's such a privilege to be a part of something like this," adds Rex, reflecting on the support shown by regulars such as Waddington and Sudeikis to the new cast."These people have been doing this for a long time, and have really honed their craft. They know what it takes to be good people, both on set and off."I've learnt a lot from them, and from my new colleagues."The Lady Greyhounds include Game of Thrones' Faye Marsay, Abbie Hern, Jude Mack and Tanya Reynolds, as well as Rex's screen sister Sharkey."We are best mates. What you see on screen is very much our real life relationship, we adore each other. I can't wait for the world to meet all of them," says Rex."Trying on that kit for the first time, wearing that badge that I had fallen in love with... and then stepping out on that pitch, in those football boots, pretending to be a football player - all of it - I will never take it for granted, for sure."The new series lands on Apple TV+ on 5 August.