Interview Sophie Lin
There is football and then there is football. What would happen if an American football coach was hired to manage a British football team? And yes, they are completely different sports. Comedy and hilarity ensue through the underlying theme of determination, optimism, and compassion. The usual cast of characters are all on the team; the reluctant players who eventually embrace the American spirit, the hard-to-convince captain of the team who finally after some time not only manages to inspire his stale teammates but also ends up seeing eye to eye with the coach. Somewhat, anyway. But there is also the one character, the one that never wanted to play nice and that character is Jamie Tartt. Tartt is the team show-off who convinces nobody that he should be the captain, and when he does not get his way he storms off to join another team and never looks back. Well, sort of.
Rumor has it that in season 3, Phil Dunster’s character, Jamie Tartt will experience a little bit of a character adjustment. We had already previewed an inkling of that in season 2 and audiences worldwide are eagerly waiting to see where the evolution of Jamie Tartt ends up after he had eaten an entire humble pie last season.
Phil Dunster is an English actor who made his television debut in the Channel 4 sitcom, “Catastrophe”. Prior to joining the SAG-nominated ensemble cast of “Ted Lasso”, he was in the recurring role of Lance Corporal Will Jensen in “Strike Back” as well as the period miniseries, “Catherine the Great”. Dunster brings multiple layers of experience to the role of Jamie Tartt. It’s probably safe to say that it is due to Dunster’s incredible ability to somehow still make us believe that there is a good human inside that brash, egotistical footballer that we all still find ourselves secretly rooting for him.
Jacket & Pants: Officine Generale
Shirt & Pants: Officine Generale
Do you follow football in real life? Who’s your team?
Yes. Big time. AFC Wimbledon are my boys and girls. They ain’t anywhere near the premier league but my God they’re a great club.
Did you ever play football (soccer) growing up? Did you have to train for the role of Jamie Tartt and what did that entail?
I’d say it was the larger part of my personality for a fair bit. My idea of being attractive to girls when I was 10 years old and was running around the playground sweating as much as I could trying to impress them. It took me quite a while to lose my virginity.
Jacket & T-Shirt: Officine Generale
Jacket & Pants: Iceberg, T-shirt: Officine Generale
It was nice to see us another side of Jamie Tartt emerging last season. What is it like playing this self-absorbed, self-serving character? Was it difficult for you to transition into him and what did you enjoy about this role?
The first rehearsal we had on “Ted Lasso” was a football training session. The football in ‘Ted’ is more like choreography than anything resembling open play. It helped that the vast majority of the team were already excellent players so that they could hit their marks consistently but Jamie is an exceptional player so it took an extra dose of practicing footwork; stepovers, Cruyff turns, dribbles, etcetera to give him that Tartty twinkle. And grow hair for his plethora of hairdos. That took some work.
I bloody love playing Jamie. He’s a much bolder, assertive version of me. It feels like a chance to step into a totally different person’s shoes… or boots… or sliders, take your footwear pick. As far as Jamie’s self-absorption, I’d say it’s always important as an actor never to judge the character you play even if they’re as douchey to begin with as Jamie. It’s our jobs to find the reason they are the way they are and flesh them out accordingly. With Jamie, the writers were SO good at laying out all of the foundations and giving him all of the baggage. It was just my job to tease it out.
T-Shirt & Cargo pants: Iceberg
Jacket & Pants: Officine Generale
In your short film, “Pragma” you play Jack, who the main character, Willow, is attracted to even though she is better algorithmically suited for another. What made you want to tell this story of heart versus science for a sustainable relationship?
There’s a brilliant book called, “An Emotional Education”, where it talks about how preoccupied our society is with learning practical skills at school in order, and you’ll excuse me putting [on] my ‘radical art student beret’ for a moment, for us to be diligent members of a functioning workforce. Whether it be engineering, mathematics, business management, etc.
We wanted to explore what it looked like if there was a national institution for learning about how to love and be loved; a practical methodology that would offer a counter approach to the prevailing teachings of Romantic Culture. As Alain de Botton puts it “Love is a skill not just an enthusiasm”.
Lucy Heath and I spoke about this and she went away wrote the script and created the world of “Pragma”, a school in which people learn how to love and be loved. The story follows a young woman who fights her natural instinct towards ‘Eros’ (fiery romantic love) embodied by Jack and tries to fall in ‘Pragma love’ (pragmatic and sustainable) with Tom. It’s also funny and silly and includes wonderful performances from the likes of Lucy herself and Nick Mohammed as one of the bumbling members of faculty.
Shirt & Pants: Officine Generale
Jacket: Officine Generale
You are also a seasoned stage actor having been nominated for an Olivier Award for your role in “Pink Mist”. Do you anticipate a return to the stage in the future?
Being applauded at the end of a shift at work? Yeah of course I’m angling for a return. I would love that very much. I love the rehearsal process and dicking about with a bunch of people who are also discovering what story we’re trying to tell and how we tell it. It’s a special alchemy of pulling faces and making noises.
T-shirt: Officine Generale
Jacket: Officine Generale
Have you ever thought of a career on the other side of the lens? Tell us a little bit about that.
Well funny you should ask that [Contents Man]… I’m directing my first short film this year. There’s no phrase that strikes more fear into the hearts of those who hear it than an actor saying ‘I’ve written a script’. But… I wrote the script for “Idiomatic” which is about someone who can see metaphors and it’s ruining their life. It’s mostly an excuse to play with puns and try and get as many silly visual gags into a 10-minute film as I could. It also explores some themes of intrusive thoughts and how they can distance us from those closest to us and the world around us. But, yeah, mostly puns.
As I was writing it I could see the shots in my head and thought, “…ooo that’s a fun way of telling a story in a dynamic and irreverent way.” so I approached Sitgma Films who will produce it and my chum Brett Goldstein is an executive producer. I’m terrified and very excited to pop my directoral cherry. Second reference to losing virginity in one interview. Sorry Mum…
If you are not acting, what career would you have most likely explored?
I was rubbish at pretty much everything else. But maybe a physio or sports psychologist. I think the mentality of elite athletes is fascinating and also totally different from the everyday experience of the majority of people.
Or maybe a landscape gardener. Just something where I wouldn’t have to write very much.
You have worked on some incredible shows including “Catastrophe” and “Ted Lasso”, can you tell us where we can see you next?
I’m very excited to get to play with the cast of “Surface” for their second season. It’s an Apple TV+ show and Gugu Mbatha-Raw is the lead and she’s absolute mustard. It’s a dark, twisted international thriller and I’m so excited to play a kind of person that I haven’t had the chance to play as of yet.
Jacket & Pants: Iceberg, T-shirt: Officine Generale
Jacket: Iceberg, T-shirt: Officine Generale
Photography
Rhys Frampton
Creative Director & Fashion Editor
Deborah Ferguson
Interview
Sophie Lin
Grooming
Paige Davenport @ Eamgmt
Web Layout
Jill Ryan
Thank You
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