In Conversation with: Rex Hayes
Our latest digital cover star hits the pitch in Ted Lasso
Rex wears: Lost My Accent Coat, No Such Agency PR; Banana Republic Shorts; Christian Dior Bandana; Gladys Tamez Millinery hat
It’s dark in Rex Hayes’ London flat as they call in to our chat, meaning it’s morning in Los Angeles. A week or so has passed since I last saw Hayes leaping, dancing, and juggling each soccer ball we asked them to (all while in cashmere!) through our digital cover shoot in downtown LA’s Arts District. The actor now dons a conspicuous ‘Everybody Watches Women’s Sports’ tee, printed in purple and notorious in throngs of WNBA crowds and behind football pitches globally. Only Hayes’ is written in Welsh, their native tongue. They’re recovering from a two-week traveling stint across the U.S., spent promoting season 4 of Ted Lasso ahead of its eagerly awaited reboot. In the series, Hayes portrays Siobhan Harrigan, Richmond W.F.C.’s right back and twin to teammate Niamh. Life imitating art as it does, Hayes themselves is a former football-star-turned-scene-stealer, a la Troy Bolton if you will. As Ted Lasso’s comeback season premieres its final episodes, the Welsh breakout star sits down with Reserved to talk football, fashion’s impact on their identity, and representation in the industry.
Rex wears: Lost My Accent sweater, No Such Agency PR; Adidas shoes; Gladys Tamez Millinery cap
Reserved: You hold your Welsh background close to your heart. Tell us about the impact Wales had on your upbringing, and how it led you down the path you follow today. Where did this all start for you?
Rex Hayes: In Wales, I went to Welsh language school, so I did my education in the Welsh language up until the age of 18, when I went to drama school. The other day, someone was like, ‘Were you Troy Bolton?’ I was like, ‘What the hell do you mean by that?’ But what they meant: Was I the person that’s stuck between sport and drama? In some ways, I am. In my queer fantasy, I am, actually.
From the moment I could walk and talk, I did all the sports that I could— football being one of them, but also hockey, netball. I played rugby, anything that I could sink my teeth into. I did the same thing with acting. I was always doing whatever was available in terms of performing.
I didn’t realize drama school was a thing until I was 17. Some one was like, ‘You can do this all day, every day for three years. As soon as I realized that there was access to that job, I was like, ‘That’s the one that makes the most sense.’
Rex wears: Gladys Tamez Millinery hat; Always out of Stock shirt, No Such Agency PR; Spinelli Kilcollin rings
R: Did acting school take you to London?
RH: No, I stayed in Cardiff, at Royal Welsh College. I’ve always wanted to move to London. When I first visited, on a family holiday, I was like, ‘I’m gonna be here one day.’ Royal Welsh just happened to be the place for me, so I stayed until I was 21, and trained. When I graduated, I was like, ‘It’s time.’ Dick Whittington style. I’ve been in London ever since.
R: There are so many different paths actors take today to make it to the big break, which is why I like to ask. Was it ever a question of whether you would choose sports or the stage?
RH: In Welsh language culture, there’s a lot of access to the arts that you don’t necessarily get elsewhere when you’re a young person, and so I feel like that was the reason why I got to do a bit more exploration there, whereas sports was a thing that I enjoyed doing. Had it been the other way around, maybe I would have taken a different path. I didn’t know you could do either of those things as a job until I found myself being an actor. You know what I mean?
Rex wears: Le Papillon Garage shirt; Double RL jacket, Le Papillon Garage; Duke + Dexter loafers; Reality Eyewear sunglasses; Birdnote jeans, Le Papillon Garage; Spinelli Kilcollin rings
R: Acting on a football show, nonetheless.
RH: Here we are.
R: It all came together at once. I want to get a little bit more into your connection to Welsh identity, because it is not something you often see represented in the media today, nor is it something that’s often talked about. So, tell me a little bit about that.
RH: It’s a big part of why I think I now do the job that I do. I got the opportunity to be in choir from the moment I could speak the language. In Welsh culture generally, but specifically during my schooling, you’re singing in choir from the moment you can speak. The ability to realize that being creative is what the arts are from so young meant that I got a taste for performing in a way that loads of people don’t get at that age. The first three years of my career, once I graduated, were involved in Welsh language dramas. We have a channel in Wales called S4C. I did three dramas for that channel, and therefore I got a foot in the door in the industry, which is really rare. I started learning how to be an actor, how to be on set, and be a good colleague. I got to do all of that really early on, which I’m so glad. I speak up in this language (Hayes references their t-shirt, emblazoned with Everybody Watches Women’s Sports in Welsh).
Rex wears: Le Papillon Garage vest; Auwl chains, Alligator Jesus; Elliott Evans trousers, Alligator Jesus
R: Oh, look! You’re ready. Wow, what does that say?
RH: Everybody watches women’s sports.
R: That’s why it looks familiar. Oh my god, that’s awesome.
RH: Yesterday, I was walking in New York, wearing the same tee. A girl was walking towards me, wearing this t-shirt in English. I clocked her, and I was like, “Oh, that’s lovely,” in my head. I’m realizing that she knew what my shirt said, but she doesn’t know the language is. “Nice shirt,” she said. That’s a good moment. Yeah, I shed a little tear. It may have been sleep deprivation, but a good moment nonetheless.
“Visibility still matters, no matter the form it arrives.”
R: Everyone does watch women’s sports, as this season of Ted Lasso exhibits. The representation of a fictional Richmond women’s team is emblematic of the larger cultural demand to platform female athletes. What does it mean to you to be involved in that movement?
RH: I’m a massive football fan. I’m a Liverpool football club supporter, and have been for a very long time. So, I already engaged with the sport in that way. As soon as Keely (Juno Temple), at the end of season three, got that binder on Rebecca’s desk reading ‘Richmond Women’s Club’, I was like, ‘I’m gonna be in that.’ I meant it. If there’s any job for me, as an actor, it’s a football show. It’s a very specific skill that I’ve got to make use of. Being on set felt bizarre because I went from being a fan of the show, and a football fan— somebody who would have loved to be a footballer in a different life— to then cosplaying as a footballer, living out that childhood dream. My inner child was constantly overwhelmed with joy. The whole cast are big women’s football fans.Our football shoots were the best bits. We would spend 8 to 10 hours a day for a week playing a football game. Thank God for our physio.
Rex wears: Gladys Tamez Millinery hat; Always out of Stock shirt, No Such Agency PR; Spinelli Kilcollin rings; Elliott Evans shorts, Alligator Jesus
R: What was the actual casting process like?
RH: I had loads of friends going up for it. The women’s football world and queer world (they knit their fingers together to demonstrate)— big overlap. As an actor, if you don’t hear anything on a Friday, the job’s gone to somebody else. Monday, I was driving home to my parents’ house for the week, and I’d been in the car for three hours. 20 minutes out from their home, I got the call. I burst into tears and held on to the wheel. It was so surreal. I’d been asking the universe— and I don’t usually do this. I’m not that witchy, but I was like, ‘Look, if it works for something, be this.’ Every day on from that final audition, I was like, ‘Thank you, more. Please, always.’ I will be manifesting for the rest of my life.
R: Talk to me a little bit about what it was like melding yourself with your character, Siobhan. How are you two similar, and how are you different?
RH: We’re not too dissimilar. I think there are elements of Siobhan that I access myself, but she is a lot more chaotic and green, and doesn’t know where to place all the energy that she has. I think that comes largely from the fact that Siobhan always has somebody this far away from her (referencing Siobhan’s twin, Niamh, played by Aisling Sharkey). Filming with a ‘twin’ is such a joy as an actor. Most of the time, we were discovering ourselves with each other. Finding our footing as a pair really helped to shape the nuances of our individual characters. Mine and Aisling’s relationship fell into being siblings so quickly that it meant that Siobhan and Niamh got to fly, which is so nice and so jammy. We got to have that person to play off from day one, whereas usually you’re trying to find all of this history in these characters on your own. We really got to find the spark of it as we sort of went on.
Rex wears: Le Papillon Garage shirt; Double RL jacket, Le Papillon Garage; Duke + Dexter loafers; Reality Eyewear sunglasses; Birdnote jeans, Le Papillon Garage; Spinelli Kilcollin rings
R: Between twin bickering and team bonding, set life must have been a dream. Tell me what it was like to collaborate with your costars, coming into this massively popular program.
The nature of the process on set is very SNL. Jason and Brendan, and the team of writers are always writing as they go— changing, chopping, and melding. Also, putting on a football kit is a really specific ritual— down to how you have your socks. We all had our own version of how our character wears their socks. I got to choose my [football] boots. All of that was a big part of me settling into the body of that person. I’m not a professional athlete, and I don’t want to put words in these amazing people’s mouths— but when you’re putting your kit on before you play the game, whether that’s a friendly, or a final, it’s a battlefield suit. That was always something that, from my first fitting, put me in the zone. I’m stepping into the boots, quite literally, of that character.
“It feels like I’ve arrived in my body and in my skin as the person that I have always been inside.”
R: Talk me through that your personal style, outside of the football kit. You’ve just had a massive press tour. What has that evolution looked like as you’ve stepped into the spotlight?
RH: My style generally is massively linked to my transness. There’s a time in my life that I didn’t care about what I was wearing, and made some strong, strong choices (laughs). I just shiver to think about it. As I’ve settled into myself, over the years of discovering my sexuality and my gender, the question I’ve asked more is what makes me feel good on the outside? How do I fit into this t-shirt, into these trousers, like the shape of these boots? All of that is about discovering my self-expression, both externally and internally. I love my clothes. I love style. I love working out an outfit or a look. I do a lot of secondhand vintage shopping. That’s a lot of what my wardrobe is. Nothing beats a 70s collar.
I think there’s something timeless about clothing that isn’t made now. It better expresses something that doesn’t fit into a box. Getting to this point, where going to fancy events or premieres is so much fun because I love dressing up— that is a triumph. The tie that I wore for the LA premiere was my own tie for my own collection. I love to add those little touches, as much as I love putting on clothes that I never would buy for myself. It’s just a game of dress up, and I think— to go back to the inner child stuff— it’s so healing for the kid that was trying to work out who they were. If you look at any photos of me up until the age of 26, I’m always in cargo pants or a baseball shirt. There were signs. It was very clear from day one that I was not a woman, but it takes a while to work that out. It’s a big part of my life, and makes me feel incredibly euphoric when it works. It’s a beautiful thing.
Rex wears: Lost My Accent Coat, No Such Agency PR; Banana Republic Shorts; Christian Dior Bandana; Gladys Tamez Millinery hat
R: Especially for queer individuals, getting dressed has such a weighted meaning. It can be so much more powerful, but can also be so much more discouraging at certain points. When you’re on that journey, it can feel like maybe you’re the only one. To hear someone with your platform speak on it can be really healing. Thank you for your candor. I’d like to hear more about your identity journey— sexuality, gender, anything that has gone into discovering who you are today.
RH: I came out as queer quite late. I met a woman, and suddenly I didn’t want to be just friends with that person anymore. That was in my early 20s. In the pandemic, during that sweet, sweet time alone with my brain I wondered: why am I itchy in my skin? Why do I feel like there’s still something missing? All of a sudden, the world got very closed-off. We were on the internet a lot more because that’s all there was to do. Therefore, I had far more access to people exploring their gender, to trans and/or gender nonconforming individuals. I was like, ‘Ah, what is that? Maybe it’s that.’ Things spiraled out of control, as the conservatives would say! ‘It’s utter woke nonsense!’ (they laugh) So, here I am, really. For the first time in my life—for now— I’m my most fully formed self. I feel that for the first time ever. I think it’s beautiful, and I only know that because I’ve never felt it. The whole point of the spectrum of gender identity is that it doesn’t necessarily have to be one thing. It feels like I’ve arrived in my body and in my skin as the person that I have always been inside. Those two have aligned for the first time in the last couple of years.
Rex wears: Le Papillon Garage vest; Auwl chains, Alligator Jesus
R: In talking about queerness in media representation and media for queer individuals, does it ever still feel ‘itchy’ if you’re on a set playing a character that doesn’t necessarily have the same gender identification? Can that feel even like taking a step back, like you’re going to a place that doesn’t feel aligned?
RH: The beauty of this job is that oftentimes you don’t get to choose what jobs you say yes to. You take what comes. If anything comes my way that doesn’t feel right, I won’t go for it. That has allowed a lot more freedom. It can sound quite limiting, but that’s just not the case. It means that I’m looking out for myself. I will only ever do a job if I feel like it serves me, or serves somebody else. In Ted Lasso, Siobhan uses she/her pronouns, but Siobhan is still me. She’s still in my body. Somebody seeing a person that looks like me playing that character—- visibility still matters, no matter the form it arrives.
“My style generally is massively linked to my transness.”
R: Visibility is visibility, and to have out, gender-nonconforming actors in roles of any kind is so important. The spotlight is expanding, and you’ve now had an impactful hand in that. Reality will only grow to seep into those fictional storylines. Okay: that was my final serious or scary question, but I want to open it up. Any final sentiments to share?
RH: I don’t think so. I actually haven’t talked about queerness or transness that much, which was quite lovely. Thanks for the chat.
