Hannah Waddingham clears her throat. Her voice is a little scratchy.
Two days before our meeting, the Ted Lasso star hosted Saturday Night Live UK, taking part in nearly every sketch.
>>> Thousands Protest in Kyiv After Zelenskyy Removes Defence Minister Fedorov
Now 51, Waddingham is in her Hollywood era.
She has starred in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning with Tom Cruise and The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.
She is here to talk about the return of Ted Lasso and her new series, Ride or Die, a comedy-drama caper co-starring Octavia Spencer.
In it, Waddingham plays an undercover assassin who loves drinking and men.
During lockdown, Ted Lasso made her famous on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2021, she won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series.
At 47, after a long but unflashy career on stage and screen, her time had come.
The Road to Richmond
Waddingham grew up among creative people. Her first jobs were in theatre.
After years of grafting in the West End and on Broadway, she had breakthrough screen roles in Game of Thrones and Sex Education.
Then came Ted Lasso. Her character, Rebecca Welton, takes over AFC Richmond as part of a divorce settlement.
Over three seasons, she grows to love the game, and her friendship with Jason Sudeikis's coach gives the show its big-hearted warmth.
>>> Global Wildfire Triage Collapse: When Firefighters Must Choose Which Blazes to Fight
Now, it is back for a fourth run, three years later, with a women's football team at its centre.
