She didn’t believe.
Actress Keeley Hazell claimed in her memoir, “Everyone’s Seen My Tits,” that Juno Temple’s starring role in “Ted Lasso” was originally written for her.
Hazell, who was previously romantically linked with the show’s star and creator, Jason Sudeikis, claimed in her book that she met with Sudeikis to “discuss the part he had written for me” in a “football show set in England.”
“The show hadn’t been picked up at this point, meaning, it was just a script waiting to be sold,” the English model and actress wrote, per Us Weekly. “But the idea of me being a lead in a TV show was enough to make me wet my pants with excitement.”
Hazell, 38, noted that the former “SNL” star, 49, said he was writing the role of a woman named “Keeley,” and although Hazell read for it, the part ultimately went to Temple, 36.
Temple received three Emmy nominations for the role.
“I felt like I’d been punched in the chest,” Hazell wrote in her book. “Once I didn’t get cast as Keeley, I decided that acting could go f— itself.”
Hazell also had a small role in Sudeikis’ 2014 movie “Horrible Bosses 2,” and she appeared in the E! show “The Royals” in 2015 and 2018.
“Ted Lasso” premiered on AppleTV+ in 2020, following a cheerful American football coach (Sudeikis) who finds himself coaching an English soccer team. Keely is a PR exec who is originally dating self-absorbed star player Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) before moving on to grumpy veteran player Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein).
The comedy ended after three seasons in 2023, before announcing in March that it would return for a surprise fourth season, following a women’s team.
Sudeikis was previously engaged to actress and director Olivia Wilde, 41, for over seven years before they ended their relationship at the beginning of 2020.
The “Horrible Bosses” star was romantically linked to Hazell in 2021, and they reportedly split in 2022.
That timeline means that Hazell was not dating Sudeikis yet at the time that he reportedly wrote the role of Keeley for her. The Post has reached out to Hazell and Sudeikis for comment.
She would eventually go on to play a smaller role in “Ted Lasso,” as the character Bex. After Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) has an ugly split from former team owner Rupert (Anthony Head), he moves on to Bex.
Hazell wrote in her memoir that she is someone “who has stumbled and struggled and survived,” adding, “I get to play the greatest role of my lifetime — the Real Keeley, and here she f—— is.”
“Ted Lasso” Season 4 doesn’t have an announced premiere date. Sudeikis and Temple will reprise their roles, but it’s not been confirmed if Hazell will return.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
