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Nick Mohammed

Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware

Hosted by Jessie Ware

58m
Transcript

Original podcast

Summary

Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.

Nick Mohammed joins Jessie and Lennie Ware to talk about his role in the legal drama thriller 'War', his touring show as Mr. Swallow, and his deep passion for magic. Throughout the conversation, the guest shares anecdotes from his time filming 'The Traitors', growing up with a Trinidadian father and Greek Cypriot mother, and his unconventional culinary habits, including an elaborate pasta creation featuring pesto, chorizo, sun-dried tomatoes, and sweet corn. The episode highlights his unique blend of academic background in geophysics, professional magic credentials, and comedic career.

  • The guest explains that his favorite lunch meal is simple buttered toast with ham, baked beans, cheese, and black pepper. 5:53
  • When joining the Magic Circle, the guest was initially disqualified from his audition because he used a secret stooge to execute a card trick. 17:28
  • During the rigorous filming of 'The Traitors', contestants had no access to phones and were only allowed to FaceTime their children once a day with producers listening in. 21:25
  • The guest makes an unconventional pasta dish at home by combining spaghetti and green pesto with microwave-cooked mushrooms, crispy chorizo, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet corn, and hot sauce. 47:01

Chapters

  1. 0:00
    Podcast Intro and Host Banter

    Jessie and Lennie welcome listeners, tease the guest, and joke about their dynamic before Nick Mohammed arrives.

  2. 0:39
    Nick Mohammed Arrives and Gig Recap

    Nick arrives from Manchester, recounts a rainy outdoor gig and discusses how weather affected his set and his voice.

  3. 2:59
    Cooking Segment and Food Talk

    Jessie explains her cooking duties, shares recipes from Alexandra Dudley’s cookbook, and discusses the meal they’re preparing for the show.

  4. 16:19
    Magic Career and The Magic Circle

    Nick details his journey into magic, membership in the Magic Circle, a disqualification incident, and his philosophy on magic versus cheating.

  5. 30:01
    Family, Music, and Childhood Memories

    Nick shares stories about his parents, his musical upbringing, his wife, and his children’s involvement in music, plus childhood food memories.

  6. 37:19
    Wagamama Menu Routine and Mr. Swallow Persona

    Nick explains how he memorized the Wagamama menu for a show, the challenges of blending magic with his Mr. Swallow character, and the balance between comedy and illusion.

  7. 40:06
    Ego in Magic, Comedy, and Acting

    Nick reflects on ego across his three careers, the importance of confidence, and how he navigates ambition and humility in the entertainment industry.

  8. 41:03
    Magic Origins and Originality

    The hosts discuss the challenges of originality in magic and the pressures of performing classic routines.

  9. 42:32
    Live Magic Trick Performance

    Nick performs a card trick for the audience, showcasing his sleight of hand and engaging the hosts.

  10. 45:07
    Chocolate Cake Showcase

    The hosts taste and discuss Alexandra Dudley's Flowerless Chocolate Moran Cake, sharing reactions and dessert preferences.

  11. 53:14
    Intimacy Question Misfire

    A playful but awkward question about intimacy leads to confusion and a brief apology from the hosts.

  12. 55:25
    Nostalgic Taste Reflection

    Nick reflects on the flavors that remind him of university life, sharing personal memories tied to food and drink.

Highlights

  • 4:02

    Outdoor Comedy Set in Rainstory

    The guest describes doing an outdoor gig in Manchester as Mr. Swallow where it started pouring rain 15 minutes into his set, forcing him to power through a ten-minute storytelling bit about Les Misérables.

  • 7:10

    Childhood Spice and Hot Sauceinsight

    Growing up with a Trinidadian father, the guest developed a lifelong love for extremely hot food, keeping hot pepper sauce on hand to add to almost any meal, including pasta.

  • 11:30

    Spotting Visual Memory Earlystory

    The guest noticed his son Finn had an eidetic memory before the age of two when the toddler could correctly identify a hundred different characters by their book spines.

  • 17:28

    Disqualified From The Magic Circlestory

    After intentionally trying to fool the high-ranking magic judges during his audition, the guest got caught using an elaborate card setup and was temporarily disqualified.

  • 29:06

    Inspiration for Mr. Swallowstory

    The guest reveals that his recurring character Mr. Swallow was inspired by his eccentric GCSE English teacher who loved to grandstand and randomly demand debates on capital punishment.

  • 39:41

    Egos Within the Magic Communityinsight

    The guest explains that magicians suffer from massive egos because the entire premise of magic is performing inexplicable feats to gain power, noting that the Magic Circle remains roughly 95 percent male.

  • 43:49

    Card Trick Performancestrategy

    The guest performs a live card trick for the hosts, successfully guessing the chosen card after comedic banter and playful misdirection.

Quotes

  • “I think I can cook probably sort of three things quite well.”
    Unnamed speaker · 6:33
  • “There is a reason why the magic circle is like 95% male.”
    Unnamed speaker · 39:52
  • “I was cheating, but that was only like one effect out of three or four.”
    Unnamed speaker · 18:03
  • “I love the noise of cards, it's so great. I follow quite a few.”
    Unnamed speaker · 43:00
  • “I think particularly when, if you ignore the truth though side, but, but if it's grown from the ground, I'm like, we'll just mix it.”
    Unnamed speaker · 52:03
  • “I honestly think it's arches and lemonade.”
    Unnamed speaker · 55:25
  • Superhuman Go 24:23–24:52
  • Table Manners Podcast 59:18–59:31
  • Series by Marriott 59:44–1:00:13

About this episode

Nick Mohammed is a man of many talents - actor, comedian, presenter, and even a magician! Best known for Ted Lasso and his unforgettable stint on The Traitors, Nick joined us this week to chat about his latest role in legal thriller 'War'. We also found out what it was really like inside the Traitors castle, how his hilarious alter ego 'Mr Swallow’ came to be, that he swapped a potential career in science for comedy, meeting his wife in the university orchestra, his Greek Cypriot and Trinidadian family roots, and you really don’t want to miss his recipe for his guilty pleasure pasta dish! We couldn’t let Nick leave before showing us a magic trick, and of course it was as amazing as we’d hoped! Thanks for such a brilliant afternoon Nick - you can catch him in ‘War' now available on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the US. Listen & watch Table Manners here - https://tablemanners.komi.io/ Follow Table Manners on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tablemannerspodcast/ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@tablemannerspodcast Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tablemannerspodcast YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TableMannersPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

0:00
58:50

12,888 words · 6 speakers

Speaker names marked are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

Topics

  • Comedy
  • Magic
  • Television
  • Food And Cooking
  • Acting
  • Family

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