Don’t be surprised if Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple stop talking about how much they love each other. It doesn’t mean that the affection and mutual admiration has passed; it would just be a way of protecting what is sacred between the frequent scene partners.
“She and I have become more and more insular about our relationship because if you talk too much about it, it can never do justice to what she and I have found together as human beings,” Waddingham says on the heels of Ted Lasso‘s Emmy nominations of 20 nods, including one apiece to Waddingham and Temple for playing team owner Rebecca Welton and the likeable publicist Keeley Jones, respectively.
In any other show, their characters could have become bitter rivals or have been forced to fight their way out of petty catfights. But on the optimistic Apple TV+ hit, they became confidants and supporters of each other as Welton chatted a mysterious beau in Toheeb Jimoh’s Sam as Jones built her career and navigated romantic minefields. Season two ended with Jones setting out to open her own publicity company while receiving (tearly eyes) advice from her boss: “Hire your best friend.”
About their chemistry, on screen and off, Temple explains: “It’s not fake. It’s real. I love her so much, and what we have is a safe place. It’s so important to put the world on the line that girlfriends are the most important people in your life, after all, they keep the world going.”
Waddingham teases that she and her BFF have already filmed some memorable scenes together for season three. “When we get last-minute horrific rewrites, like we did recently, she and I close in and say, ‘Okay, we totally got this,'” says the actress, who won her first Emmy in 2021 for the show’s first season. . “We recently finished a scene and Juno said, ‘My whole body is shaking.’ I said, “That’s because this is real, and it flows into Keeley and Rebecca.” ”
This story first appeared in a standalone July issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.