Before Becoming Ted Lasso's Jamie Tartt, Phil Dunster Was In A Popular British Spy Series

Phil Dunster broke out internationally by playing soccer player Jamie Tartt on Apple TV's "Ted Lasso," the striker whose right foot was "kissed by God" according to the lovably grumpy Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein). He starts out in the series as an arrogant, self-obsessed member of the team who slowly recognizes the value in working with his fellow players and trying to be a better person. But before he portrayed Tartt in "Ted Lasso," Dunster was in a popular British spy series, "Strike Back."

"Strike Back" follows Section 20, a team working under the UK's Secret Intelligence Service which investigates and neutralizes global threats. It might not be one of the best British spy shows, but its action-packed plots kept it running for eight seasons from 2010 until 2020. Dunster appeared in Season 6, titled "Retribution," where he played Lance Corporal Will Jensen. He assists the main squad in tracking down former spy Jane Lowry (Katherine Kelly) when she goes rogue during a covert operation to infiltrate a terrorist cell. It's not exactly the fun, wholesome appeal of "Ted Lasso" — and the fate of Dunster's character is the perfectly brutal example of that.

"Strike Back" Season 6 is basically about the cover up of Project Tenebrae, where the UK government agreed to fund a terrorist attack as a means of learning more information about the terrorist group that Jane Lowry was infiltrating. However, she had actually been radicalized and chose a different civilian target. During the mission, the rogue operative sets a trap for Will Jensen and tortures him for the whereabouts of her daughter, and he loses his eye in the process.

It's a grisly scene, and not one fans of "Ted Lasso" would expect Phil Dunster to be involved in. To make matters worse, he recovers from his injuries and returns to work — only to discover that his boss, Adeena Donovan (Nina Sosanya) was directly involved with Project Tenebrae. To keep her involvement in the terrorist attack secret, she throws a plastic bag around Jensen's head and chokes him to death.

Still, Dunster's family was hugely impressed with his "Strike Back" role — as he told Luxury London that both his father and his brother served in the military. The show itself was based on the action novels by former Special Air Serviceman Chris Ryan, and was inspired by his own time in the armed forces.