Brett Goldstein and Jason Sudeikis in ‘Ted Lasso’. Apple TV+
Ted would love this. Hair and makeup designer Nicky Austin has been incorporating subtle Easter eggs into characters’ looks since season 1 of Ted Lasso — and she’s now revealing the strategy behind each nod.
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Austin is a part of Apple TV+’s beloved comedy series. She does more than just create looks for each character in every episode. She also compares the past with the present to help create meaningful connections for story line arcs.
“I’ll go, ‘OK, there’s gonna be a different look that we need to do. We need to do something different for Keeley on this day, and we need to do something different for Rebecca on this day.’ And I’ll try and track back,” she exclusively told Us Weekly. “For example, she had a really monumental scene, Keeley [Juno Temple]Roy [Brett Goldstein] in season 1, where she had her first kiss wearing this particular ponytail, and then she wore it again on his last game when he’d injured himself beyond repair.”
Brett Goldstein, Elodie Blomfield and Juno Temple in ‘Ted Lasso’. Apple TV+
Most of Austin’s choices tend to involve Keeley Jones, which isn’t much of a surprise. The model-turned-PR consultant has a fun wardrobe and a strong bond with the AFC Richmond crew. Keeley, once again, wore her pride for Roy in hair during episode 2 of season 2.
“I try and put it wherever I can,” Austin told Us. “[It]Keeley was very excited about the occasion. She was convincing Roy to take her on a date night. Roy hated it. And he wasn’t in the best frame of mind. He was still sad after his retirement. He still had his heavy beard because he’d had to leave football and it was before he’d become a pundit. In support of the stress he was experiencing, she had three bobby pins in his hair. So she had ‘RKJ,’ which was Roy Kent to Keeley Jones.”
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Keeley’s support has even extended to Roy’s former football teammate Sam Obisanya. Episode 3 of season 2 Toheeb Jimoh’s character was willing to lose everything when he went against the team’s sponsor, Dubai Air. Keeley and the rest of the athletes stood with him.
“When Sam was struggling with his conscience with the Dubai Air situation in season 2, I managed to find this goldfish clip to put in Keeley’s hair to show her support to Sam because he was told to be a goldfish,” Austin told Use. “I kind of look at the scripts and try and find little Easter eggs if I can put them in anywhere.”
Nicky Austin. Courtesy Nicky Austin/Instagram
Jason Sudeikis‘ Ted Lasso, who offers daily inspirational life lessons to his players and fellow coaches, once encouraged Sam “to be a goldfish” when Jamie (Phil Dunster) was riling him up one day because goldfish are the happiest animals in the world. How is that possible? They have a 10-second memory.
“I just came up with that,” Austin mused. “That was a random thing.”
The designer monitors the younger cast members as well. Roy’s niece Phoebe, played by Elodie BlomfieldDespite having bad breath, she has great style thanks to Keeley.
“It’s almost like Phoebe wants to be Keeley, so I try and emulate her in Phoebe’s hair accessories sometimes. I’ll put one in Phoebe’s hair. I’ve done it this season, actually, [with one]Keeley had her hair done in the last season. Because she looks up. So little things like that where I can,” Austin told Use. “And then there’s actually another one this season. You’ll see, there’s a couple of new characters and you might see they kind of track back to older looks.”
Juno Temple in ‘Ted Lasso’. Apple TV+
Goldstein revealed earlier this month that season 3, currently in London production, is being written to be the series’ finale. The cast is also taking advantage of what are supposedly their last episodes together.
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“We go out way more than we did on season 1! We’re so close. I’m always out with the guys,” Austin gushed. “We do go out a lot and we’re a family. Three seasons in and a lot of the crew have been with us the whole way through, or they did one and they’ve come back for three, which is a really sociable bunch. As you can see, the guys love each other. There’s no Instagram versus reality. It’s just genuine love.”
The group bonds on set, even if they aren’t at pubs. “I’ve got so many memories, but I think maybe when it was last season after Jason won his Golden Globe and it was the first big award win, that was quite a memory,” Austin recalled to Us. “We were all in the locker room the next day. I was a bit emotional after he gave a speech. The ensemble was also nominated by the SAGs last year. We didn’t win last year, we won this year. But we were all together. It was COVID so all the guys had to be made up in their separate rooms, but it was also Phil’s birthday that night. It was very cute, so we had a cake. We couldn’t go out as much because of lockdown, but we’re definitely making up for it this year.”
Ted LassoAlso stars Hannah Waddingham, Brendan Hunt, Nick MohammedAnd Jeremy Swift. Season 3 is scheduled for release in 2023.
