#Middlebury
Q: Who is the actor who plays the arrogant soccer star Jamie Tartt on “Ted Lasso”? When I first saw him, I thought he had to be one of the DeLuise boys – or a distant cousin. Did he ever play soccer in college or anything? The soccer scenes look so realistic. – E.D.
A: Phil Dunster, who plays Jamie Tartt on the Apple TV+ comedy “Ted Lasso,” is a 29-year-old British actor. He’s not related to the late, great Dom DeLuise or his offspring, but he’s a joy to watch even when he’s playing the bad guy.
Dunster’s previous roles include playing a count in the Helen Mirren HBO limited series “Catherine the Great” and a colonel in the 2017 Kenneth Branagh film “Murder on the Orient Express.” In an interview with AV Club about how they film the professional soccer scenes, Dunster said: “We have a dedicated sports choreography team for the show. We had a dedicated football director on season 2 who has worked a lot with shooting football. … It takes a lot of time and good editors, which luckily we have, to make me look like Jamie Tartt.”
Phil Dunster in “Ted Lasso” (Colin Hutton/Apple TV+ photo)
In addition to being represented in England, Dunster just signed with the American talent agency CAA, so, in my opinion, it’s just a matter of time before we start seeing his name above the title at your local cinema. In the meantime, look for season three of “Ted Lasso” on Apple TV+ next summer.
Q: Is the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” ever coming back to prime time? I loved the brief run it had last year with host Jimmy Kimmel, although Regis Philbin is my all-time favorite host. – C.K.
A: Game shows made a big comeback in prime time during the confining days of the pandemic, but “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” which debuted 21 years ago, hasn’t been renewed for another season – yet. Modern versions of classic game shows “The $100,000 Pyramid,” “To Tell the Truth” and “Match Game” provided visual comfort food for nostalgia lovers as well as a new generation of fans.
“Deadline” speculates that “Millionaire” could return to ABC in what is called “event programming” and not necessarily a regular fixture in prime time again like it once was when Philbin hosted.
Q: This has been driving me crazy for a while. What is the name of the football drama that lasted just one season because, allegedly, the bigwigs in the NFL disapproved of it. – G.G.
A: You’re thinking of “Playmakers,” an ESPN original drama series that, despite high ratings, was given the ax three months after it premiered in August 2003. It was about a fictional NFL team, but rumor has it that NFL executives didn’t like how the players were depicted off the field and wanted to preserve their image. I think the show would have survived had it aired on a different network.
Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.
© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.
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