Nick Mohammednever thought he’d be a two-time Emmy nominee — or that he’d have the support of a beloved celebrity.
Speaking with PEOPLE after receiving an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series, theTed Lassoactor says, “I wasn’t expecting it the first time around, wasn’t expecting it the second time around.”
“I almost haven’t really had time to think about it because we’re still filming obviously, and it’s just delightful,” he shares in this week’s issue. “I haven’t really considered that it was the second time, even. It’s just really nice. It’s more like, just to me, the show has done so well and I’m just very grateful for being a part of it.”
On the day the nominations were announced, Mohammed says he was on the playground with his two children while his wife and agent were “sneakily” viewing the live stream. However, they were disappointed when his category wasn’t announced.
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Then, “I started getting some texts from some friends who had obviously either gone onto the website or Twitter or something, and so yeah, it was delightful,” he recalls. “I was really shocked and obviously pleased, but really pleased so many of theTed Lassogang have been nominated, particularly Toheeb [Jimoh] in that category, obviouslyBrett [Goldstein] as well. Yeah, it was lovely.”
Nick Mohammed.Zoe McConnell
“When the season 2 finale aired, I was actually in America and I was away from home doing a film and so I was really missing my family and stuff,” Mohammed recalls. “ButLin-Manuel Mirandasent me a direct message on Twitter and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness,’ because the whole family are bigHamiltonfans, everything he’s done really, and that was the best thing.”
“And then we had a little video clip of my son, who’s six, singing the opening toHamilton, including a lot of the bad language,” he notes with a laugh. “And so I just sent it to him and he sent something really nice back and I was able to share that with my son and my wife. And so that was incredible, I couldn’t believe it.”
Mohammed also notes how there’s been “increasingly more — not pressure, but attention — on the show as it’s resonating with more and more people.”
“You see so many people, just in general, praising the show,” he explains of theTed Lasso, which wasnominated for outstanding comedy series for the second consecutive year. “The reach of the show has been out of this world really … people who say that the show was kind of triggering for them, but then, in a really positive way. It allowed them to reflect on things that had happened to them.”
Mohammed adds: “I feel very lucky to be a part of a show that’s had a positive effect on a lot of people, which has been great.”
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This year, Mohammed says he’s excited to celebrate with his fellow nominated costars, includingJason Sudeikis,Hannah Waddingham,Brett GoldsteinandJuno Temple, as the series is up for 20 Emmy nominations aftersweeping at last year’s ceremony.
“The Emmys, last year, I think it was, from what I gather, a much smaller affair, whereas this year, it feels like it’ll be fun to go out,” he explains. “I think we’re going out as a whole cast to enjoy it in the way that it was intended prior to the global pandemic. So that’ll be a real treat.”
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On how his character Nate took a villainous turn in season 2, Mohammed says it was both enjoyable and strange to play a different facet in his role.
“It was fun in a sense that, as an actor, you relish an opportunity to try something different. It was certainly challenging in that if I had a comfort area, it was in doing the slightly bumbling, awkward Nate, which I was able to find my way through that a lot easier because there were lots of jokes written into that,” he explains. “But then increasingly in season 2, there were less written jokes for Nate and a lot more emotional dramatic driven plots for him, and particularly the latter half of season two, so it was definitely challenging.”
“And then to find myself be the villain of the piece, I guess second to Rupert, who’s the ultimate villain … it’s a fun place to start season 3 from, that’s for sure,” he adds.
Teasing what viewers can expect to see of his character in season 3, Mohammed says, “He started off as the underdog and probably bullied for a lot of his life and … finally gets that confidence boost. It’s absolutely turned sour and season 3 is certainly as much of a roller coaster for Nate.”
He adds: “Expect the unexpected withTed Lassobecause there are lots of things being turned on the head again.”
source: people.com
