TVLINE | Higgins winds up on something of a scavenger hunt this week, culminating in his first visit inside the Crown & Anchor. What was it like finally getting to shoot on that set — and what did you enjoy about getting to play that basement scene with Annette Badland?
Well, apart from a meeting about the ghosts in one of the locker rooms [in Season 1, Episode 6] with the full team. But I think that was meant to be in a room upstairs. I don’t think it was in the pub itself. But yeah, you’re right. And it’s great to do. It’s what this show does so well, is recalibrate the characters by mixing them up and having a different dynamic when you put people who don’t normally meet up with each other.
It was fabulous. I love Annette, and I’ve known her on and off for a long time. And, of course, it’s a scene of mystery, and it has cinematic references. I don’t know whether people are going to pick this up — one particular ’70s film [“All the President’s Men”]. Her vape is a clue. So it was a lot of fun to do, and it had gravitas as well. It showed us both in a slightly different frame of mind than we would be in other scenes. Mae’s in the basement, she’s giving clues, and she’s not this vinegary, bouncy character that she is upstairs in the bar.
TVLINE | It appears that Rupert is the one who’s been buying back shares of AFC Richmond. What sort of challenge does that pose for Higgins — and, of course, Rebecca — moving forward?
Well, it’s still up for grabs. It seems like that’s the case, but we’re not at 100%. And, of course, Rupert, as we know in the past, is a character who can wield enormous power and pull the rug from underneath people. They know that he’s kind of Rebecca’s nemesis, literally. So it’s a challenge. It’s a challenge for both of them.
TVLINE | We unfortunately lost the great Anthony Head earlier this year, after production on Season 4 had already wrapped. Will we see Rupert again in either of these final two episodes?
I can’t really give you anything about that, unfortunately.
TVLINE | Most of Anthony’s scenes over the years were with Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham and, later, Nick Mohammed, but I was wondering if you could speak to what he meant to the larger “Ted Lasso” family.
Oh, he was hugely beloved, and he delighted in playing this creepy guy. And, of course, he was the absolute opposite. I’d known him for a long time, and I did a TV [project] with him about 10 years ago where he played a similar character, actually.
He’s done a few of those, and it’s really interesting. Sometimes casting is about the way you look, but he’s such a fun, beautiful man, and he’ll be so missed. I first worked with him in 1983. It was in the same season at a theater festival where he was the talk of any group of women — and there were a lot of men who were besotted with him as well — because he was so talented, incredibly handsome, incredibly charming and so much fun.