Nick Mohammed is now a household name thanks to his portrayal of Nathan “Nate” Shelley on Apple TV+ hit Ted Lasso, but the actor recently revealed he almost missed out on the part entirely. Speaking with the Saturday Guardian magazine, Mohammed admitted he turned down the opportunity to audition for the show multiple times. At the time, the 45-year-old actor was busy writing and starring in the Sky One comedy Intelligence alongside David Schwimmer.

Beyond his scheduling conflicts, Mohammed had creative reservations about the role. He had previously auditioned for the character of Leslie Higgins—a part that eventually went to Jeremy Swift—and felt that Nate Shelley seemed too similar to the “low-status sidekick” characters he had played before. He specifically worried the role mirrored his Intelligence character, Joseph Harries, and did not want to repeat the same performance style.

The turning point came when Ted Lasso creator Bill Lawrence personally reached out to Mohammed to discuss the character's future. Lawrence outlined a secret three-season narrative arc that would see the timid kit man transform into a formidable antagonist. This complex journey convinced Mohammed to submit a “slapdash” self-tape during his lunch break, which ultimately secured him the role just as the show began filming its pilot.

Mohammed now describes the decision to join the cast as “life-changing.” Since the show premiered on August 14, 2020, he has earned two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. On a practical level, the actor noted that the success of the series finally allowed him to secure a mortgage, a milestone he achieved after years of working on the UK comedy circuit.