Who Plays Nate In Ted Lasso? Where You Know The Actor From

Who plays assistant coach Nate in Ted Lasso and where do audiences know him from? Nate has had quite a character arc through a season and a half of the hit Apple+ show. Starting off in season 1 as the put-upon kitman for AFC Richmond, Nate was constantly bullied in the locker room by soccer player-slash-reality star Jamie Tartt and his goon squad. But Nate’s meek and self-deprecating nature hid a keenly sharp mind for soccer, later revealing himself as a brilliant strategist. The end of Ted Lasso season 1 saw Ted promoting Nate from locker room kitman to assistant coach.

But Nate didn’t suddenly blossom overnight. Though he gained some measure of confidence after his promotion, he still has major struggles in season 2. Nate clearly wants to be respected but doesn’t have enough confidence to ask, and it’s resulted in him accidentally coming across as a jerk rather than decisive in the rare times he does try to be assertive. Despite his wunderkind aptitude for soccer plays, he’s still painfully shy at times, forever retreating rather than sticking up for himself in Ted Lasso season 2. His awkward demeanor mixed with his occasional flashes of insightful and cutting humor have made Nate an audience favorite, with the Ted Lasso viewing faithful rooting for the young assistant coach to finally develop some self-respect.

It’s not an easy role to play, requiring a talented actor who can balance Nate’s near-crippling shyness and inability to speak up with his aggressive outbursts of humor or taking charge. And much of the role is played out through non-verbal acting, with the quiet Nate often too afraid to voice his opinion, but it being clear on his face nonetheless. Luckily, actor Nick Mohammed is more than up to the task of playing Ted Lasso‘s Nate Shelley. Nate is somewhat different than any role he’s played, but Mohammed has been acting since 2006, getting his start mainly on comedic British TV shows like Horne & Corden, Reggie Perrin, Sorry, I’ve Got No Head, and Gates.

Mohammed had his first role in Hollywood movies with 2015’s The Martian, where he played awkward JPL crew member Tim Grimes. Since then, he’s done steady work in film. Other movie roles have included playing Casper in 2016’s Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, Ariyaratna in Bridget Jones’s Baby and Postman Danny in The Sense of an Ending in 2017, the short butler in The Nutcracker and the Four Realms in 2018, and providing the voice of piglet in Christopher Robin that same year. His most recent film work was playing Mr. Hyde in 2019’s The Kid Who Would Be King.

But TV was his first love, and Mohammed has still continued to make a mark there with his comedic talents. Other TV junkies might recognize him from his role as Finley in Space Chickens in Space, Roopesh in Uncle, Mr. Love in Hank Zipper, Malcolm in Drifters, Ash in The Job Lot, Simon Schinwold in the Sexy Murder miniseries, and a few recurring appearances in the UK version of Drunk History. Along with Ted Lasso, he currently stars in Intelligence opposite Friends star David Schwimmer as Joseph Harries. After years of his talent for comedy and timing flying under the radar, one can only hope Nick Mohammed’s breakout role as Nate on Ted Lasso is just the start of even better things to come.

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