NOA FISCHER: I always think it's interesting to start by asking people what they dislike about interviews. Is there anything you don't want to be asked about, or something you keep getting asked that isn't interesting to you?

REX HAYES: Honestly, I haven't done that many interviews yet. I don't really have enough experience to say there are things I dislike or things I particularly enjoy. I haven't really had the experience of someone trying to get something out of me or catch me out. I'm still learning.

The whole point of this is for people to get to know me, so I'm pretty open.

NF: Good. Then let's dive in. I wanted to ask what the equivalent of being on stage, or on set, is for you as a child. Were you performing for your parents? Were you doing school plays?

RH: I was always performing. As soon as I could walk, I was parading around as though I owned the place. There's a home video that my dad filmed when we were on holiday in West Wales—I must have been about two years old. I walked into the room and immediately say, "No, you've done that wrong." My parents were simply existing in the room, but apparently I had already decided that I was directing the whole thing. Then I climbed onto the piano and started "playing." Obviously I wasn't playing anything—I was just hitting keys—but everybody had to clap for me afterwards.

I went to a Welsh-language school, so English really became part of my education much later. One of the great traditions in Wales is the Eisteddfod, a huge cultural festival celebrating the arts. Children compete in everything from acting, singing and dancing to writing, poetry and choir performances. Every year around St David's Day we'd start rehearsing choir pieces, scenes, songs—everything. Looking back now, I realise how lucky I was because not everyone grows up with that sort of artistic platform.

It was my first experience of standing on a stage, performing, discovering that I loved the feeling of it, loving that rush of adrenaline. That was really where everything began.

NF: So there was never really a sense of stage fright that you had to overcome?

RH: I think so. I've always been a bit of a show-off. I meet lots of actors who say they didn't realise they wanted to perform until much later, or that they never imagined acting could become their career. That part was true for me as well—I didn't know acting was actually a job. But I don't remember ever being frightened of standing on a stage. If anything, I remember feeling the opposite. I wanted more of it.

NF: Do you still chase that adrenaline elsewhere in life? Or does acting satisfy that need?

RH: Actually, I think I seek calm in my everyday life. Maybe that's because the job itself is such an adrenaline rush. Whether you're in theatre or filming television, you're "on" all the time. You might spend six hours waiting around before you're suddenly called in to shoot one scene at the end of the day. So outside of work I'm actually pretty boring. And I mean that in a good way. I think boring is underrated. I love going for walks. I like being in the park.

For a long time I thought I had to be constantly out because that's what someone in their twenties was supposed to do. Now I've realised I don't actually want that. I'll happily go dancing for a couple of hours, get home by midnight and think, "That was lovely." Now I get to go to bed at the time I actually wanted to.

NF: Are you a good dancer?

RH: I don't know what qualifies as "good." I can dance. I love dancing. Whether I'm objectively any good is another question, but in a club I'm very happy throwing shapes around.

NF: What's your music of choice?

RH: Disco. Absolutely disco. Gay pop anthems. That's what I want if I'm going dancing. I don't really have much interest in going out unless my people are around me and we're all throwing our arms in the air together.

NF: I'm really interested in something you mentioned earlier. You said Welsh was your first language at school. I'm bilingual as well—I'm Croatian—so school was also my introduction to English. I've noticed that emotion sometimes feels easier to express in English because I have a certain distance from it. What's your relationship with language like?

RH: I learned both languages at around the same time. My mum speaks Welsh. My dad doesn't. At home we mostly spoke English because it was the language everybody shared. For a long time I definitely thought and felt primarily in Welsh. That has changed since moving to London, and I actually find that quite sad. I still work in Welsh, though. In fact, I owe the beginning of my career to the Welsh language—it gave me my first three professional jobs.

NF: Did that bilingual experience also influence your creativity?

RH: Definitely. When I left school, I was in a Welsh-language band called Cadno, which means fox. We were part of the Welsh rock scene, and honestly, those were some of the best years of my life. We lived what felt like a rock-star life—playing huge gigs, writing songs, recording in studios—all because of the Welsh language, which still has an incredibly vibrant music scene. When I think back on the most creative periods of my life, that time is always right at the top. I owe a huge amount to that experience.

NF: Would you ever go back to it? In the way actors like Johnny Depp occasionally revive a band on the side?

RH: Definitely. I still write music, and every now and then I'll play a couple of gigs around London. At the moment it's more of a hobby, but I don't think that part of me will ever disappear. I love music. I love performing. Whether that's singing my own songs or covering someone else's, I just love being on stage.

NF: You mentioned your younger brother. I wanted to ask how being an older sibling has influenced you, not just personally, but as an actor.

RH: Massively. The moment my brother existed, I felt responsible for him. For a long time my parents were convinced they were having a girl. I was the only person who kept saying, "I'm having a brother." And I was right. Before he could even speak, he'd make some little noise and I'd immediately tell everyone what he wanted. That's basically been our relationship ever since. He's my best friend. He's an incredible human being.

He's one of the only people who can say something so brutally honest that I'll think about it for a week afterwards. But I'm unbelievably proud of him. He's always been such a kind, gentle, caring person. When someone like that exists in your life, I think it inevitably changes the way you move through the world. Whether I'm meeting strangers socially or walking into a rehearsal room, I try to approach people with openness. I think he taught me that.

NF: When I read books or watch films, I'm often selfish with them—I'm looking for something I can borrow or recognise in myself. I wondered whether you're similar. Do you look for stories that feel personally relevant, or are you more drawn to fantasy and escapism?

RH: Definitely the former. Fantasy has never really been my thing. I don't know why—it's just never been something that's held me in the same way it does for a lot of people. I'd much rather watch something rooted in the real world. When I look at the books I read or the films I gravitate towards, they're almost always grounded in reality. I completely understand why fantasy means so much to people—it can be a wonderful form of escape, and people genuinely find themselves inside those worlds. I've just never connected with it in that way.

NF: Is there a role you haven't had the chance to play yet—an archetype—that you'd love to explore?

RH: I'd love to play a villain. A proper villain. Not just someone morally grey—I mean a full-blown, iconic antagonist. Something in the superhero world would be amazing. Marvel, DC—whatever it is. One of those characters people genuinely love to hate. If you think about the great villains—the Joker is an obvious example—they're often the most fascinating people in the story. My casting so far has generally leaned in a very different direction. So getting to flip that completely would be enormous fun.

NF: What surprised you most about working with Jason Sudeikis?

RH: I'd been a fan of Ted Lasso before I ever auditioned for it. But what struck me immediately about Jason was how collaborative he is. He has incredibly strong instincts—he knows exactly what he wants a scene to do and exactly where the story is going. But he's constantly adjusting, constantly offering ideas, constantly encouraging everybody else to contribute theirs. It never feels like you're simply being instructed. You're invited into the creative process. That was really special.

NF: Entering a show that's already been running for several years can be intimidating. What's it like finding your place on a set where everyone else already knows one another?

RH: Honestly—it feels incredibly kismet. Everything about it feels strangely inevitable. Going from being a fan of the show to suddenly existing inside it. Playing football my whole life, and then finding myself cast as a footballer. There are so many moments where I think, "This somehow feels like it was written long before I arrived." Every evening before going to sleep I found myself talking to the universe—I'd never really done that before. I kept saying, "I think this is the one." I'm not someone who usually operates in that kind of spiritual space. But I remember thinking, "If it works for other people, why not try it?" And somehow it happened.

NF: Are you religious?

RH: No, not at all. When I talk about asking the universe, I don't really mean it in a religious sense. It's much more about gratitude—acknowledging where I am, recognising what I've already been lucky enough to experience, being genuinely thankful for everything that's happened so far. And then saying, "If there's more to come, I'm open to it." This opportunity felt like an extraordinary gift. I genuinely can't wait for people to see what we've made.