INTERVIEW: Nick Mohammed on ‘Ted Lasso’, ‘Celebrity Traitors’ & Watching the World Cup at Work

You likely know Nick Mohammed from his role in the Apple TV+ hit series Ted Lasso. The show cast him as Nate Shelley, the mild-mannered kitman, who’d go on to become a ruthless antagonist and ultimately (spoiler warning) complete his redemption arc. With Ted Lasso Season 4 just around the corner, there’s hope Nate will return, but in the meantime, the actor has shouldered a far more important (if entirely tongue-in-cheek) role: Executive Chairman of SBS’s World Cup Watchers’ Rights Association.

With the World Cup’s imminent kick-off, Mohammed’s new position tasks him with assisting Australia’s passionate football fans in convincing their bosses to let them watch the tournament at work. While World Cups in years past have required Aussies to either stay up late or rise painfully early to catch their beloved Socceroos in action, this year’s competition offers a refreshing number of fixtures during daylight hours.

In light of his new role, we sat down with Mohammed to discover the best ways to twist your boss’s arm, what it was like appearing on Celebrity Traitors, and whether or not Nate will make his triumphant comeback when Ted Lasso returns to our screens in August.

Man of Many: Nick, thanks for chatting with Man of Many, and congratulations on your appointment as Executive Chairman of the World Cup Watchers’ Rights Association. What tips do you have for any Aussies who want to assert their right to watch the World Cup from their workplace?

Nick Mohammed: Well, first of all, I’d tell them to join the Watchers’ Rights Association. It’s completely free and encourages bosses to allow their workforce to do precisely that. Frankly, the World Cup doesn’t come around once a week. It’s a bit of a novelty. So what better way to instil some team spirit into your workforce than by allowing them to get together and watch during work hours?

MoM: It’s a compelling pitch. What would you say to any bosses who are less than keen?

NM: Well, consider whether you’re a nice human being! Look, if you’re a brain surgeon or an air traffic controller, you probably should still work during games, but if you’re in an office job, where you could catch up on some of the other stuff at another time, then why not just set aside two or three hours as a communal break? It’s better than having people sneak off to watch it separately, hiding in the loos or under their desks. Let’s just be really open about how much fun it is to watch it together.

MoM: I imagine it will undermine productivity anyway, so why not just lean in?

NM: Exactly, no one’s going to be doing their best work. So just be a good person.

MoM: Speaking of good people, you’ve played Nate Shelley across three seasons of Ted Lasso, a character who’s explored the full hero-to-villain spectrum. Did you always know where that character was heading?

NM: I did, yeah. I remember it really specifically. We were filming the charity gala episode in Season 1, and I was sat next to Jason for much of the shoot.

At that point, we obviously didn’t know the show would become what we know it to be now, but Ted, er, Jason , typical… he very candidly said, “Look, if we do go to multiple seasons, this is where we’re thinking your character will go, just so you can have some of that in the back of your mind.” So, I knew really early on.

In fact, even in the audition protest, they alluded to the idea that there is more to this character. At the moment, he’s this bumbling kitman who doesn’t say much, and he’s in the background, but for good reason, because he’s about to go on this journey, should it go forward. And my goodness, were they true to their word, and I’m so grateful for that.

MoM: Did you ever get any of the treatment Jack Gleeson received while playing King Joffrey in Game of Thrones, where people couldn’t distinguish between you and your character?

NM: A little. Social media did its thing, and it’s funny, the Joffrey comparison was made quite a lot in terms of the pile-on of hate. I think it was that thing where fans had really invested in Nate, because he’s the underdog. He’s a real emblem for the show in Season 1, in that through his interactions with Ted, he grows in confidence and then succeeds. As an audience, we really root for him in that way, so then it feels doubly bad when he spirals out of control and ends up betraying Ted. I think so many people had invested in the character from early on that they felt it was a betrayal to them personally.

MoM: People will certainly be able to distinguish you from your character now after your appearance on The Celebrity Traitors. Eleven million people watched the final episode live, making it one of the BBC’s biggest audiences in years. Did you have any idea that it might be that kind of cultural event?

NM: I don’t think any of us did. Everyone involved was a genuine fan of the show, myself included; that’s why we wanted to do it. But I think because it was for charity, rather than your own personal finances or anything, it felt like the attention and the stakes weren’t necessarily going to be there. Whereas it actually gave people who had not seen The Traitors before a way in, because they recognised people from the telly.

And suddenly it blew up because people were having to watch it live if they didn’t want it spoiled, because you knew the spoilers would come immediately after the show had aired. So everyone had to treat it like the old days of television, where you’d come together and watch it as it was happening.

MoM: You’ve said that it was one of the first things you’d ever done as yourself. What was it like being genuinely vulnerable in front of the cameras, rather than playing a role?

NM: Yeah, I was a little bit nervous about that. But then I just thought, when will I get an opportunity to hang out with Stephen Fry? Or push a Trojan horse up a hill? It was such a mad thing to do, and I just couldn’t say no. But it helped me see why those reality shows really work, because you quickly forget you’re on camera for a lot of the time. You get so wrapped up in the game, strategising, and particularly the round tables, that you’re unaware of the cameras, because they’re literally built into the set, so you can’t see them.

MoM: When Alan Carr revealed that he was a traitor at the end of the show, you almost collapsed on the floor, seemingly in shock.

NM: Pretty much, yeah.

MoM: The BBC seemed to edit out much of your unfiltered reaction. What was actually going through your head in that moment?

NM: It was a bit of a double whammy, because I honestly had never suspected Alan for the whole game. I remember someone saying really early on that he and Paloma are really close, and I knew they were in real life, so there’s no way Alan would have murdered Paloma. Of course, at that point, we didn’t know that it was more of an opportunistic sort of murder, rather than like a calculated murder, as it were.

I held onto that for the whole show, and when I watched it back, I couldn’t believe I didn’t spot Alan. But I never once suspected him, so as soon as he was revealed as a traitor I knew two things: One, Alan’s a traitor and I can’t believe I got that wrong, and two, Joe is faithful. I’d been umming and ahing about Joe for the last 48 hours and thought I’d finally nailed it that he was trying to get it down to him and me in the room so he could admit he’s a traitor.

So when Alan revealed he was the traitor, my legs almost gave way, and I just could not believe it. I did swear a lot , and the BBC had to edit my swearing out.

MoM: Which is worse, Nate’s betrayal in Ted Lasso or Alan Carr’s in Celebrity Traitors?

NM: I think Nate’s betrayal of Ted is quite potent. When I watch it back, he’s just being really horrible to Ted, and you don’t bite the hand that feeds you, right? Whereas as soon as Alan broke down, I was like, oh Alan, bless you, don’t worry about it, it’s all fine.

MoM: Season 4 of Ted Lasso isn’t far off, and there are reports that it ties into the real-world World Cup. Is there any chance we’re going to see Nate return?

NM: You’ll have to wait and see. I’m not at liberty to say.

MoM: I figured that might be the answer, but I had to ask anyway. How do you rate Australia’s chances in the World Cup?

NM: Never say never. I think, fingers crossed, you’ll get out of the group stage. Is it coming home to Australia? Maybe not, but it’s a bit like Celebrity Traitors in that it’s a very unpredictable game, and anything can happen.

MoM: That’s very diplomatic of you. Who do you think will be lifting the trophy at the end of the tournament?

NM: I mean, I’d get in trouble if I didn’t say England but, I mean, realistically do I think that’s the case? In recent times, we’ve come close, but I don’t want to call it ‘cause I’ll get flak.

MoM: I have to ask one more football question. Everyone asks who’s the GOAT, Messi or Ronaldo. Is the correct answer Roy Kent?

NM: Or Jamie Tartt! That’s so funny. Yeah, my kids are really into football, and they would say Messi, followed closely by Ronaldo. I think that’s the right order. But does Roy Kent supersede both those? He probably does.

Australian Football Fans Unite!

You can currently catch Nick Mohammed fighting the good fight between broadcasts on SBS, spruiking the World Cup Watchers’ Rights Association. Plus, if you ask us, the smart money’s on him making a return when Ted Lasso Season 4 hits our screens on August 5.

In the meantime, the battle for World Cup-watching rights is a worthy cause and could prove an important milestone for Australia’s industrial relations when it comes to all future major sporting events. Either way, it’s all a bit of fun. Carn the Socceroos!