Jason Sudeikis says it was a ‘joy’ for former cast member’s real-life sister to join Ted Lasso

Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis has spoken about the “joy” of having the real-life sister of Dani Rojas actor Cristo Fernández join the cast for the show’s latest season. Fernández made Rojas a fan-favorite character during his time on the series, playing an effervescent footballer whose catchphrase was: “Football is life.” In the new season, which focuses on Lasso becoming the coach of a women’s team, Fernández’s real-life sister Paloma Cinco plays his character’s sibling Maria Rojas, an aspiring footballer. Speaking to Deadline, Sudeikis said the show has endeavored to replicate real-life relationships onscreen, pointing out that Leslie Higgins actor Jeremy Swift’s on-screen wife is played by his actual spouse, Mary Roscoe.

And that joy remains with them as individuals. I love that she did it and that she did it with gusto. She was so funny and so sweet.” In a separate interview with the publication, Cinco revealed that she and her brother had actually conceived of the idea themselves.

He said no, but then jokingly added, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if his sister was?’” She continued: “From there, we started to process what that could look like. We recorded an audition based on that and sent it along. In our version, Dani’s sister is named Daniela Rojas.

She was similar to the character you meet, Maria Rojas, in that she’s equally as positive, energetic, and charismatic, like her brother Dani. There was another version where Daniela was grumpy and dark, the complete opposite of Maria. In our version, she was a good soccer player.” New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial.

Plan auto-renews until cancelled. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Earlier this year, Fernández made his debut as a professional player in a game for El Paso in a USL Cup match against New Mexico United.

Before his acting career, Fernandez was an accomplished youth player, competing with Tecos FC in Liga MX. However, injuries ultimately shifted his path towards acting. His return to professional soccer began with a tryout for the Chicago Fire's reserve squad earlier this year, which subsequently led to another tryout with El Paso and a contract.