The Untold Truth Of Juno Temple

Juno Temple has had an extraordinary acting career, with her IMDb credits listing her first major role as "Notes on a Scandal" in 2006, when she was just a teenager. Landing that role proved to be surprisingly effortless. "My mum sent me to an open audition for 'Notes on a Scandal,' so I could see quite how many other girls wanted to do this," she explained to The Guardian. "And I queued up and I got the job. That was my first ever audition, and my second was 'Atonement.' My mum thought, 'F**king hell, well, surely it goes downhill after this?'"

It didn't. More roles, and bigger ones, kept on coming. In fact, Temple's numerous screen credits are find her alternating between Hollywood blockbusters and low-budget indies, including such films as "The Dark Knight Rises," "Malificent," and more. She's also carved out a solid body of work on TV in such series as "Vinyl," "Dirty John," "Little Birds," and her most celebrated role to date, Keeley Smith in "Ted Lasso." 

Although she's appeared in dozens of film and TV projects over the years, she's also fiercely maintained her privacy. As a result, there's much to be learned by reading on to discover the untold truth of Juno Temple.

Juno Temple's parents are producer Amanda Pirie and director Julien Temple, known for such films as "Absolute Beginners" and "Earth Girls Are Easy." He is also a sought-after director of music videos for the likes of Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and many more. He also had an early association with The Sex Pistols, making his feature debut with his 1980 documentary about the band, "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle."

Speaking with The Guardian about her role in the 2016 HBO series "Vinyl," produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger, Juno Temple was asked if she had a prior relationship with the Stones frontman. "I don't remember having hung out with Mick before. Maybe when I was like [a small child]," she said. "But my dad speaks so highly of him."

Her parents, she admitted, weren't thrilled when she told them she wanted to become an actor. "Aw, man, they were bummed when I first told them," she admitted. "They were like, 'Ugh. Ohhhh. You're gonna be told that you're too short, that your t*ts aren't big enough. You're gonna constantly be told the things that are wrong with you.'"

As an actor, Juno Temple has chosen roles that have made it difficult for her to be pigeonholed or typecast. As she told The Guardian, that's fine with her, particularly when it comes to playing eccentric characters.

"Sometimes they might need that beautiful Malibu Barbie look, and that's great, but sometimes they might need the quirky weirdo," she explained. "If I audition for things, like playing a mousy secretary at the back of the room, I will straighten my hair, tie it up, no makeup and put glasses on. I think as an actor you have to embrace the fact that it's not about looking good; it's about zipping yourself into somebody else's skin."

Transforming herself into a whole other person for a role, she admitted, isn't without its occupational hazards. "It can sometimes get a bit lonely, because you can get so wrapped up in another person's life that you forget yours for a second," Temple admitted in an interview with The Independent. "You abandon yourself."

If there's one thing that Juno Temple has demonstrated in her various film and television roles, it's that she has no aversion to on-screen nudity — and she doesn't care what anyone thinks about it. "I definitely have been penalized for taking my clothes off," she told The Independent. "And honestly, sorry for swearing, but f**k that."

As The Independent pointed out, Temple appeared in three different films that premiered at the 2013 edition of the Sundance Film Festival, and was naked in all three. "I remember a reviewer being like, 'Wow, she's got her t*ts out in all of them,'" she recalled. "I don't think that's a beneficial thing to say. If you're offended by the nudity, explain to me why. Not just like, 'She's got her boobs on-screen again.' Yeah, I do. So if that's a problem, tell me why."

As she told Refinery29, if she feels nudity is essential for the role, "it's something I'm not afraid of. I'm more afraid to take off my clothes in real life than I am in front of a camera."

When Jason Sudeikis and the other producers of "Ted Lasso" began casting the characters, Juno Temple's name was on a list of prospective candidates. Her name leapt out at Sudeikis, he revealed in an interview with Variety, because his then-partner Olivia Wilde had co-starred with Temple in HBO's "Vinyl," and they had once spent a night together singing karaoke. "You can learn a lot about someone by the way they do karaoke," said Sudeikis. "Juno's such a good actor, listener and spirit. She's open and curious and messy in all the beautiful ways a human can be."

When Temple was approached about playing Keeley Jones, a former topless model who describes herself as being "sort of famous for being almost famous," she was both flattered and intrigued by the character's complexity. 

"I was truly quite overwhelmed that he thought of me for it," Temple said. "That speaks volumes to me, that he believed that I could play a character that people would think was just one thing and then would really surprise you. I think that is one of the greatest things that I've experienced in my career thus far."

While "Ted Lasso" brought Juno Temple the opportunity to play a role unlike anything she'd ever played before, she admitted to experiencing some apprehension. "Normally I'm cast as very dark, dark characters," she told Deadline, explaining she found performing in a comedy to be daunting. I was terrified because the entire cast that was attached were these extraordinary people who were all very good at being funny. I don't think of myself remotely as a comedy actress," she said. "The idea of getting that kind of timing right is just terrifying to me."

She credits "Ted Lasso" star/co-creator Jason Sudeikis for giving her the confidence to find the character and then absolutely nail it; both Juno and co-star Hannah Waddingham became first-time Emmy nominees for their respective performances. 

"Jason was so patient with me, when almost every 10 minutes I would be like, 'I don't know how to make that funny.' He would say, 'Don't worry; you don't have to. Just be you. Just be exactly as you would be as Keeley and it will all fall into place,'" explained Temple. 

Juno Temple has worked with many actors in a variety of film and television projects throughout her career. In fact, there's one actor with whom she's actually worked twice: Justin Timberlake. Having starred alongside the singer-turned-actor in the Woody Allen-directed "Wonder Wheel," the two went on to co-star in the 2020 Apple TV+ movie "Palmer." 

It was her familiarity with Timberlake from their first film together, Temple told The Independent, that allowed her to film a "Palmer" sex scene with Timberlake without the need for an on-set intimacy coordinator. "I've worked with Justin before; he's a friend of mine, and I feel very safe working with him," she said, admitting that "doing a sex scene is less terrifying than doing a scene where I have to give up my child."

In fact, Temple was offered the role on the suggestion of Timberlake, who told director Fisher Stevens she'd be perfect for the movie. "I'm amazed that he thought I had the right mindset and all of that to bring life to Shelly," she told Decider. "Because I really think she's an amazing character to get to play and I'm eternally grateful for that, truly."

The chance to play Keeley Jones in "Ted Lasso" was not just unexpected for Juno Temple, it also proved to be downright transformative. In an interview with Access, Temple said that been receiving feedback from viewers about "the joy it's brought them" during the pandemic. "And I don't know if that will ever happen again in my career, but I felt the same way making it, so it feels like an extra level of connection... honestly, it saved my life too," she said.

While the first season premiered near the beginning of the pandemic, the second was filmed right in the midst of it. Being able to step back into the world of "Ted Lasso," and to once again play Keeley, proved to be therapeutic. "But getting into the headspace of Keeley — who truly is a bundle of light — during this crazy time to be alive, where the world is hurting on so many levels and people are closing doors rather than opening their ears and hearing each other, has been special," Temple told Deadline. "Keeley has saved my mental health, truly."

One of Juno Temple's most unusual projects has been the film "Horns," in which she plays the murdered girlfriend of "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe's character, who mysteriously awakens after the homicide with a set of goat-like horns protruding from his skull. 

Juno's deceased character is seen throughout the movie in flashbacks, including one featuring a steamy sex scene between Radcliffe and Temple. While Temple is no stranger to baring all for the camera, "Horns" proved to be Radcliffe's first-ever on-screen sex scene. Uncertain of exactly what would take place, Radcliffe asked his co-star what he should expect. "I told Dan, 'I guarantee you that a few moments after we start shooting you will be asked to put your hands on my bum cheeks. It will happen at some point,'" she warned him, which she related in an interview with IndieWire. "Literally we go in and five minutes later I was like, 'Told you so.'"

She ultimately found working with Radcliffe to be a "rewarding" experience. "Acting is so about reacting to what's happening around you and I couldn't have asked for a better partner in crime in that," she explained. 

While discussing her role in "Horns" with GQ, Juno Temple was asked to single out the "Halloween-y thing you're most afraid of." She didn't hesitate when she blurted out, "Spiders! I am, I mean, down to my core, truly arachnophobia. They freak me out big time."

While she finds spiders to be terrifying, Temple has no issues with snakes. In fact, in an interview with Cosmopolitan she recalled one scene in "Horns" in which she "had to be covered in them. I'm not sure if it's in the movie — it might be, in the brother's drug trip scene. Weirdly, it was quite amazing. I've never been scared of snakes. I'm really, truly arachnophobic. I hate spiders, but snakes have never freaked me out. I think they're really beautiful."

She insisted that she had no fear at all while numerous snakes slithered across her body. "I had a bizarre moment where one was crawling up through my hair and I heard it sigh. Not hiss, but it literally went [sighs] in my ear," she told Cosmo. "I sort of thought, 'Wow, that must mean something somewhere.' Hopefully that's a good sign."

Given all the hype that "Ted Lasso" received after nabbing a staggering 20 Emmy nominations ahead of its second-season premiere, it's pretty much a no-brainer that it spurred a sudden spurt of binge-watching. In a video interview with Entertainment Weekly, Juno Temple offered her recommendations on five must-watch episodes from the first season for newbies who decided to sample "Ted Lasso." Chief among her favorite episodes, she said, was the first season's seventh episode "Make Rebecca Great Again," which showcases the stunning singing abilities of her co-star Hannah Waddingham, as well as a scene in which "Keeley and Roy Kent [Brett Goldstein] get their first kiss, which was a big moment."

Temple also singled out the second episode, pointing to the "brilliant speech" from Waddingham about whether it's better to be a lion or a panda. "Pandas are fat and lazy and have piss-stained fur," notes Waddingham's character, AFC Richmond team-owner Rebecca Welton. "Lions are powerful, and majestic, and rule the jungle." She punctuates her point with a riddle. "What's black and white and red all over?" Rebecca asks before dropping the mic with the punchline. "A panda that gets anywhere near a f**king lion."

Juno Temple can boast dozens of screen credits, playing a vast array of different characters over the years. Those characters, as viewers of those movies can attest, have also sported vastly different hairstyles. This led ScreenCrush to develop "The Juno Temple Hair Test," which is jokingly described as "a totally scientific and thoroughly objective test" that examines Temple's hair as a barometer to determine "what is the deal with this movie?"

One example cited is Woody Allen's "Wonder Wheel," in which Temple's hair is "half naturally curly and half straightened with a fairly uninteresting color, which indicates that her character is in the middle of a conflict." That 'do "also suggests that the film itself is contradictory in tone, and that it may be beautiful but also boring..." Other examples include "Notes on a Scandal," which features Temple's hair styled to be "natural, frizzy and [curly]," indicating she's probably "playing a younger character in a sexy, twisted movie."

Also noted is the film "Kaboom," in which Temple's hair is "natural and messy as hell," which translates to a movie that "is probably a super wild and weird time."

Despite the many, many films that she's been in, Juno Temple is a bit of a chameleon when it comes to immersing herself in a role. Not only has this allowed her to avoid being typecast, it's also prevented her from escalating to the level of fame where paparazzi park outside her home and she's constantly accosted for autographs wherever she goes (although "Ted Lasso" may change that).

"I'm a little bit of a hermit. I hang out, I like to read and watch movies and go out ... to one of my favorite bars in my neighborhood," said Temple in a 2011 interview with the Toronto Star. "But I don't want to be someone that's in magazines, I don't want to be someone that's having my picture taken while I'm eating scrambled eggs with a friend on a Sunday morning," she added.

The way Temple sees it, " ... There's so much more to be said when you're more of a mystery to the universe than if you are everywhere... I'm happy to be everywhere in movies and happy to have a million movies out at once playing a million different characters. But Juno should be kind of a secret, you know what I mean?"

Not only did the role of Keeley Smith in "Ted Lasson" bring Juno Temple critical acclaim and her very first Emmy nomination, there was also an unexpected bonus: a new friendship with co-star Hannah Waddingham that mirrored the on-screen bond between their characters. "It was the most strange thing," Waddington told Variety of the connection they formed. "It was just completely natural and effortless... and it's been like that ever since, both on-screen and off."

Temple concurred in an interview with People, declaring she couldn't imagine sharing her amazing "Ted Lasso" journey with anyone but Waddingham. "I couldn't be more delighted to go through something as overwhelming, as exciting and brilliant and terrifying as this with a woman like that," Temple gushed. "She's one of the most extraordinary women I have ever encountered in my life. And the fact that I get to love her and she loves me back for real, it's just, yeah."

Considering all those screen credits that Juno Temple has racked up, it would be reasonable to assume that she's managed to set aside a tidy little nest egg for herself. However, that doesn't appear to be the case. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Temple's paydays must not have been all that big, given that the site estimates her net worth as just $1 million. 

However, it seems likely that Temple's asking price will be increasing significantly thanks to her burgeoning fame due to her "Ted Lasso" role, in addition to the additional interest (and accompanying salary demands) that nabbing an Emmy nomination can bring. 

Meanwhile, before the second season of Ted Lasso even premiered, Temple had already signed on to another high-profile project that promises to put a few more bucks in her bank account. As Variety reported in June 2021, she joined the cast of "The Offer," a new limited series for the Paramount+ streaming service about the behind-the-scenes drama involved in the making of cinematic classic "The Godfather."