The famous Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso is currently airing its third and final season, leaving many fans bummed out. The show has been a breath of fresh air for many, as it has mixed some aspects of professional football in England along with some memorable, heart-warming characters that have helped it gain a lot of popularity.
Not just football fans, but those who rarely follow sports have gotten attached to the show due to its witty comedy, brilliant character development and satisfying storyline.
Despite the general direction of the show diverting towards the personal lives of its characters than what happens on the football pitch, the current season has had a lot of goofy footballing moments with the Ted Lasso-manage team AFC Richmond playing in the Premier League.
The special thing about the characters in Ted Lasso is that a lot of them are actually inspired by real-life footballers. The angry, foul-mouthed character of Roy Kent – the assistant coach at Richmond – is inspired by the temperamental former Manchester United captain Roy Keane.
In the current season, the character of the outlandish ‘Zava’ was clearly inspired by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, there has been a surprising update on where the cocky forward Jamie Tartt is based.
Is Jamie Tartt a caricature of Jack Grealish?
Jamie Tartt was introduced in season one as an extremely talented, but egotistical forward who had been loaned in from Manchester City. He regularly got into arguments and fights with his teammates but remained a key player for Richmond because of his amazing ability.
He’s slowly developed from an unlikeable, entitled brat to a popular figure in the Richmond team. Tartt has also gotten closer to Kent, who hated him in the first season – but is now trying to make him the best player in the league in the current season.
— Juan Pablo Meneses Gómez (@MenesesJuan) April 10, 2023
Due to the general appearance of Tartt – perfectly displayed by actor Phil Dunster – many believe he was inspired by City winger Jack Grealish. Tartt’s playing style is similar to Grealish, while he also dons long hair which is protected by a headband – exactly like the English winger.
However, Ted Lasso star Brendan Hunt (who portrays the eccentric Coach Beard) has dismissed these rumors on CBS Sports’ ‘This or That’ show. He said: “Jack Grealish wasn’t even really a thing when we were writing season one. So this Jack Grealish connection is sort of letter day. But I’ll pick Jamie above Grealish, he scores more goals and cost less money.”
Who is Jamie Tartt inspired from?
Hunt, who is also among the show writers for Ted Lasso, has revealed that the writers just took inspiration from many footballers who act like ‘divas’ to come up with the character of the snobby Tartt.
He said: “He was just drawn from various pouting divas. I had to tell people in the writers took ‘okay everyone in this room who doesn’t like soccer at all’, but there is a guy named (Cristiano) Ronaldo. Tartt was inspired a little bit by Ronaldo and a little by Antonio Cassano. So yeah, a mixed bag of pouty lunatics!”
Tartt’s inspiration from Cristiano might be with how the Portuguese forward like showing off on the pitch and also shows tantrums when things don’t go his way – something the Ted Lasso character did earlier this season.
Roy Kent or Roy Keane Jamie Tartt or Jack Grealish Nathan Shelley or José Mourinho @TedLasso's @brendanhunting plays a special game of This or That on Morning Footy. ⚽ pic.twitter.com/QdF7RL48c5
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 18, 2023
Cassano was a gifted footballer who played for Real Madrid and Inter Milan – but his egotistical nature and ill-disciplined lifestyle cost him to playing for lower sides later in his career.
The character of Jamie Tartt, however, has grown into a friendlier human being who is now more of a ‘team player’ at AFC Richmond. In the show, he’s currently training to be the best player in the league and it remains to be seen if he can pull off that achievement which Ronaldo definitely did during his initial stint at Manchester United.
