After I take into consideration Jamie Tartt’s funniest traces in Ted Lasso, I instantly learn them in that iconic Mancunian accent Phil Dunster places on for the character. Nonetheless, that wasn’t at all times the plan, initially AFC Richmond’s diva star participant was alleged to be completely totally different. Nonetheless, as I realized from studying Jeremy Egner’s guide Imagine and talking to the creator about it, there’s a wild story behind how the character of Jamie developed and the way Dunster ended up touchdown the half.
Imagine options tons of tales concerning the Ted Lasso forged’s auditions, and whereas they’re all attention-grabbing, Phil Dunster’s stands out. That is one thing Jeremy Egner informed me as effectively after I requested him which casting story stunned him essentially the most. He started by recalling the story informed within the guide, noting that initially Jamie was alleged to be South American.
In reality, within the guide, he wrote:
Together with his chiseled attractiveness, athletic physique, sporty stylish wardrobe, and vaguely ridiculous hair, Phil Dunster as Jamie is the platonic best of a cocky English footballer. However initially the creators had one thing fully totally different in thoughts for Richmond’s preeminent prima donna, envisioning the character as a flashy Latin American participant. Dunster, nevertheless, satisfied them to go in a distinct course.
That “Latin American participant” was named Dani Rojas – who ended up being a completely totally different character performed by Cristo Fernández. Nonetheless, earlier than they may get there, they wanted to seek out their Jamie. They usually stored coming again round to Phil Dunster – who in the end received an Emmy nomination for his work because the footballer.
Within the guide, Dunster defined that after auditioning with a Spanish accent, he was requested to choose a distinct one which wasn’t his personal that represented footballers from the UK. In the end, he went with the Manchester accent, which actually sealed the deal. (I imply would traces like “Coach I’m me” and “It’s simply poop-eh” work so effectively if he didn’t have the accent?)
The director of Ted Lasso’s pilot, Tom Marshall, informed Egner why he believed that too, explaining:
I keep in mind Phil Dunster’s audition very clearly. I can’t consider what was scripted, however put it this fashion: We auditioned a man who did an Italian accent. After which Phil got here in, and Phil was the one was says, ‘So I’ve form of been attempting it in a Manchester accent.’ And I keep in mind speaking afterward to Invoice [Lawrence] and Jason [Sudeikis], like ‘That was so bang on.’ It has such nice connotations: Oasis; there’s an entire music scene from Manchester, the Manchester scene, that’s principally about being cocky and being from Manchester. So, you understand, Jamie Tartt with that accent fully aligned for me.
Throughout my interview with the creator, he cited this particular story from Marshall and all of the Mancunian influences he was excited about. Not solely is the accent nice, however it additionally matches the cocky power they needed for Jamie – due to the aforementioned influences.
Egner discovered the connections stunning and attention-grabbing, and it added to how he understood participant, as he informed me:
It is humorous, the connections that make you perceive that any person is correct for a job are sort of attention-grabbing. And that was simply form of instance of that.
General, as an enormous fan of Ted Lasso, understanding how they crafted the present is fascinating to me. Plus, Jamie’s story is particularly attention-grabbing, as a result of my opinion of Phil Dunster’s character modified a lot over the course of the present. The man owned the function, and I don’t suppose you might have this collection with out him. So, to know that this story began with Jamie Tartt being Dani Rojas is really wild!
Nonetheless, via a protracted course of and Phil Dunster attempting out a brand new accent, we received this magnificent character and incredible BTS story.
To return and see this actor within the present, you may stream Ted Lasso with an Apple TV+ subscription. If you’d like extra cool behind-the-scenes tales, you should buy Imagine on Amazon or wherever you get your books.