Henry Lasso was officially recast in Ted Lasso Season 4 for one specific reason, according to the show's new star. After an excruciating three-year wait, Ted Lasso, Apple TV's most successful comedy ever, came back to the small screen with the first episode of Season 4. This also came with an expanded role for one of the show's most important characters, Henry Lasso, the son of Jason Sudeikis' leading football coach and a big part of the show's emotional core.
Apple TV cast young star Grant Feely to play the role of Ted Lasso's son, Henry Lasso, in Ted Lasso Season 4. Along with credits in both Five Nights at Freddy's movies, Feely also played the younger version of Luke Skywalker in Disney and Lucasfilm's Obi-Wan Kenobi series in 2022. Feely takes over the role of Henry from Gus Turner, who originally played Ted's son in the show's first three seasons.
Turner played Henry in 11 total episodes of Ted Lasso, including three episodes in Season 1, three episodes in Season 2, and five episodes in Season 3. Most of his appearances were delivered via Zoom calls with his father, but he also made two trips to London to spend time with Ted and watch him at work as the coach of AFC Richmond.
Did They Recast Henry In Ted Lasso Season 4 For Any Particular Reason?
Speaking with Page Six, Feely revealed that Apple TV decided to recast Henry Lasso because the character needed to be able to play soccer in Season 4. The new star noted that he "had to brush up" and get his brothers to show him the ropes, even revealing that he paid them a small percentage of his earnings from the show to teach him how to play soccer
"I had to brush up...I had to get my brothers to teach me. People think that my brothers would do it for free out of a favor – but I had to pay them to teach me soccer! I had paid them five percent of my first episode."
When Gus Turner played Henry Lasso in the first three seasons, the character did not have to show off his soccer skills. This did not come into play until the final episode of Season 3, which picked up with Ted going back to Kansas City and leaving his job as the coach of AFC Richmond. Reuniting with his ex-wife, Michelle (Andrea Anders), and Henry, he started coaching his son in youth soccer at the end of that episode.
Season 4 then starts with Ted having moved away from coaching, while somebody else coaches Henry's soccer team. Here, Henry gets to show off his skills for a few minutes on the pitch as Ted watches with Michelle, his mother, Dottie (Becky Ann Baker), Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), Keeley Jones (Juno Temple), and Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift). This all comes before Ted gets Henry and Michelle's blessing to move to London together so that he can coach AFC Richmond's newly-formed women's football team.
How Grant Feely Compares to Gus Turner as Henry Lasso
While Feely only has one episode under his belt as Henry Lasso, he effectively shows the character's growth and evolution into his teenage years after Turner brought him to life as a young boy. Feely is also a couple of years older than Turner (14 years old versus 12), allowing him to dive into a slightly more mature version of the central young hero.
This was shown early on when he and his father sat in the car and discussed his antics at school, where he had written down some slightly inappropriate lyrics to a Public Enemy hip-hop song. He then got to dive into the soccer side of the story with his youth team, all while his dad pondered the idea of going back to the UK to coach again.
Season 4 allows for more emotional growth from Henry than ever before, as he moves past the doe-eyed, loving version of the character fans knew and loved in the first three seasons. While Ted and Henry did not have any tension with one another in Episode 1, they were able to talk through things on a closer level, as Henry starts to understand what his father means to people outside of their family.
Moving forward, Henry is expected to play a bigger role than ever in Season 4, as he moves to London with his parents and gets to watch Ted work his magic with the Richmond women's team. From here, fans will see their relationship grow even deeper, and Henry may even advance further as an athlete himself
New episodes of Ted Lasso Season 4 debut on Apple TV on Wednesdays at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
