Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed is known for his brilliant (yet infuriating!) performance as football villain Nate Shelley, but he could've been joined by some very familiar faces.
With Ted Lasso season 3 in full swing, we've caught up with Nate following his career move from Richmond AFC to West Ham, where he's now working alongside Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head), which is the ultimate betrayal for Richmond's owner and Rupert's ex-wife Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham).
The Apple TV Plus series is full of great stars, but Nick has revealed that his parents could have landed roles in the series, but they chose to turn it down instead!
Speaking on the Off Menu podcast with Ed Gamble and James Acaster, he revealed: "They were offered [it]. Theo Park, who casts Ted Lasso, he's a brilliant casting director, who always likes to honor someone's heritage for authenticity.
"This was at the point where they didn't know that Nate's parents were gonna be in it, but when it became that they were gonna pop up again in season 2 — and I don't think this is a spoiler, but they obviously do pop up again in season 3 — suddenly we started having these conversations and Theo was like: 'Nick, would your mum and dad be up for it?'"
He added: "So I did put it to them, and they're retired now — my mum was a GP and dad was a solicitor — so they're not actors or performers in any sense. My dad was up for it, my mum was not, and refused for him to do it."
Nate's parents have played a key part in his recent downfall, especially when it comes to his father, Lloyd (played by Peter Landi) who was not impressed with his successes at Richmond and kept telling him to be more humble about it, which affected his confidence.
Lashing out, Nate started to become ruder to those around him and took his family frustrations out on people at work, which made him go from the club's "Wonder Kid" to the villain that everyone has grown to hate.
Season 3 has seen him trying to vilify Richmond even more by working alongside Rupert, but his parents are still unimpressed with him, especially when he swore during a press conference.
Even though Nick's real-life parents aren't involved, he's still been involved in some big scenes with his on-screen ones. Will Nate ever be able to redeem himself?
Ted Lasso is released every Wednesday on Apple TV Plus.
