Ted Lasso’s Nick Mohammad on Vulnerability and Toxic Masculinity

We spoke to Ted Lasso’s Emmy Nominated Nick Mohammad about his character’s arc this season and using the isolation he experienced during covid to heighten Nate’s feeling of vulnerability and being lost. Nick, not having full access to the script, tried find the relevant clues and points of return through the scenes, navigating this element of two steps forward and one step back in the story. In this season, there was an innocent side of his character in not knowing how to speak to women and holding the vulnerability that comes with being his own worst enemy in relationships.

Nick also wanted to use his body language to tell the story of toxic masculinity and insecurity. Nick wanted to draw attention to the cycle of abuse that gets passed on in these spaces, emphasizing how writers really lean into the shame his character feels. He speaks of the parental figures in Nate’s life and how Ted and Roy create a sense of betrayal after the first season. Nick drew a lot of the inner conflict from having Roy and Ted being supportive figures of Nate while his character also needing to be the alpha in any room. For Nick, it was important to show that Nate’s most aggressive and horrible moments were are also his most vulnerable. When he struggles to keep it together and regain control, Nick notes, is when the cathartic and clever writing of Ted Lasso shines through the most. Nick is really looking forward to his character finding a sense of resolution with his dad in season 3.

Watch the full conversation below.

Q&A on the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso with actor Nick Mohammed. Moderated by Mara Webster, In Creative Company.

An American football coach is hired to manage a British soccer team; what he lacks in knowledge, he makes up for in optimism, determination and biscuits.