Quincy Isaiah.Photo: Tommaso Boddi/GettyQuincy Isaiah is ready to take the court.In his first major acting role, Isaiah, 26, is playing a youngEarvin “Magic” Johnsonon HBO’sWinning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.The 10-episode sports drama will tell the story of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers — a team that featured Johnson,Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and famed head coach Pat Riley — and the dynasties that followed. Johnson’s story will also come to light, detailing his humble beginnings in Michigan to his league debut as theLakers' 1980 first overall draft pick.The role still feels surreal for Isaiah, who, just a few years ago, was also living in Michigan and on track to graduate college with a business degree.“It’s one of the moments that you tell yourself that you can do, but until you actually do it, it’s not real. It still doesn’t feel real,” he tells PEOPLE. “I feel like ‘role of a lifetime’ is used loosely, but I really feel that way. I love basketball, I’m playing an icon, it’s a period piece, on HBO, Adam McKay project, all these great actors. It has all the things. There’s no other way around it for me.““My thing was, I just got to show up and work hard,” he adds. “I showed up with a can-do attitude. I think they saw that, and hopefully, my acting was good enough, and that’s what got me the part.“Quincy Isaiah inWinning Time.hboThough Isaiah got his start in acting at a young age, it wasn’t until his senior year of college that he says he seriously began to pursue the craft.“The summer before my senior year, I needed a calculus class. I looked at my major [requirements] and I had the same amount of credits for theater as I did my major, which was business,” he explains. “I was like, ‘I really dislike this calc class. I’m done. I’m going to just switch my major and go from there.’ So I ended up majoring in theater and I didn’t look back.““I was able to do two plays that year. I worked behind the scenes on another one, and it just made me fall in love with the craft of it,” he continues. “Theater really allowed me to be expressive, and be in my feelings, and act crazy, and… create with other people.“After graduating in 2017, Isaiah moved from Muskegon to Los Angeles, where he began the painstaking audition process.“That lit a fire under me, trying to get short films, and student films, and commercials, and just anything that I can show my work and show that I can do this,” he says, noting that he eventually signed with an agent and had the audition forWinning Timecome in soon after.“At this point, I had been on so many [unsuccessful] auditions. I was just like, ‘Alright, let’s just have fun,'” he recalls. “So, I went in there, read off the paper, and I left. I didn’t think nothing of it.“Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson.HBOA few days later, Isaiah got a callback. It was then that he really began to study the part of Johnson.“I was still like, ‘I can’t get my hopes up,’ but once I got that callback, I was like, ‘Okay, let’s work,'” he says. “I started doing my research, reading books, watching documentaries, all the things you do just to start building your character and figure out who I’m playing.“It also helped that the young actor was already a fan of the Lakers.“Growing up, I was a fan of Shaq [O’Neal], and he played for the Lakers. So, I was like, ‘I’m a Lakers fan,'” he shares. “The Lakers play a lot of good basketball. Even before LeBron got there, I was still watching them, just because I had recently moved [to L.A.] and I like the players that were on the team.“After his callback, Isaiah was asked to return once more — this time, for a two-hour basketball audition with retired NBA player Rick Fox. As a former collegiate football player, Isaiah credits his athleticism for helping him jump back into the world of basketball and nail the audition.“I’ve been playing basketball since I was little at the YMCA. I knew how to play the game. I just stopped [playing] organized basketball in sixth grade. That’s where my growth stopped,” he explains. “It’s one of them things where it’s muscle memory. I’m an athlete… The training part wasn’t what worried me, it was more so about the skills of playing the icon of Magic Johnson, one of the greatest basketball players to ever touch a ball.“RELATED VIDEO: LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers Win 2020 NBA Finals Nearly 9 Months After Kobe Bryant’s DeathNot long after his May 2019 basketball audition, Isaiah learned he had officially booked the part. By June of that year, he was out on the basketball court, shooting hoops with a coach for two hours each day.Though some would feel immense pressure playing someone as iconic as Johnson, Isaiah says he felt confident about his abilities, putting his trust in the team who trained him.“You can’t hold me to being Magic, in terms of what he did on the court. Of course, I want to get it right,” he says. “But at the same time, I got to trust my team. I got to trust that they’re not going to put me in a position to look like I don’t know what I’m doing. The directors, my writers, whatever scene it is, or whatever pass you need me to do, I got that in my arsenal.“As he prepares for the series premiere, Isaiah says he’s most excited for fans to learn more about the Lakers franchise and “how pivotal it was in basketball and entertainment.” He’s also looking forward to seeing where this project takes him down the line.“I just want to do good work,” he says. “I want to do work that I can look back at and be like, ‘I did something different. I did roles that I didn’t grow up with,’ and just offer a different perspective on the human life.“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynastypremieres Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream after on HBO Max.
Quincy Isaiah.Photo: Tommaso Boddi/Getty
Quincy Isaiah is ready to take the court.In his first major acting role, Isaiah, 26, is playing a youngEarvin “Magic” Johnsonon HBO’sWinning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.The 10-episode sports drama will tell the story of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers — a team that featured Johnson,Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and famed head coach Pat Riley — and the dynasties that followed. Johnson’s story will also come to light, detailing his humble beginnings in Michigan to his league debut as theLakers’ 1980 first overall draft pick.The role still feels surreal for Isaiah, who, just a few years ago, was also living in Michigan and on track to graduate college with a business degree.“It’s one of the moments that you tell yourself that you can do, but until you actually do it, it’s not real. It still doesn’t feel real,” he tells PEOPLE. “I feel like ‘role of a lifetime’ is used loosely, but I really feel that way. I love basketball, I’m playing an icon, it’s a period piece, on HBO, Adam McKay project, all these great actors. It has all the things. There’s no other way around it for me.““My thing was, I just got to show up and work hard,” he adds. “I showed up with a can-do attitude. I think they saw that, and hopefully, my acting was good enough, and that’s what got me the part.“Quincy Isaiah inWinning Time.hboThough Isaiah got his start in acting at a young age, it wasn’t until his senior year of college that he says he seriously began to pursue the craft.“The summer before my senior year, I needed a calculus class. I looked at my major [requirements] and I had the same amount of credits for theater as I did my major, which was business,” he explains. “I was like, ‘I really dislike this calc class. I’m done. I’m going to just switch my major and go from there.’ So I ended up majoring in theater and I didn’t look back.““I was able to do two plays that year. I worked behind the scenes on another one, and it just made me fall in love with the craft of it,” he continues. “Theater really allowed me to be expressive, and be in my feelings, and act crazy, and… create with other people.“After graduating in 2017, Isaiah moved from Muskegon to Los Angeles, where he began the painstaking audition process.“That lit a fire under me, trying to get short films, and student films, and commercials, and just anything that I can show my work and show that I can do this,” he says, noting that he eventually signed with an agent and had the audition forWinning Timecome in soon after.“At this point, I had been on so many [unsuccessful] auditions. I was just like, ‘Alright, let’s just have fun,'” he recalls. “So, I went in there, read off the paper, and I left. I didn’t think nothing of it.“Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson.HBOA few days later, Isaiah got a callback. It was then that he really began to study the part of Johnson.“I was still like, ‘I can’t get my hopes up,’ but once I got that callback, I was like, ‘Okay, let’s work,'” he says. “I started doing my research, reading books, watching documentaries, all the things you do just to start building your character and figure out who I’m playing.“It also helped that the young actor was already a fan of the Lakers.“Growing up, I was a fan of Shaq [O’Neal], and he played for the Lakers. So, I was like, ‘I’m a Lakers fan,'” he shares. “The Lakers play a lot of good basketball. Even before LeBron got there, I was still watching them, just because I had recently moved [to L.A.] and I like the players that were on the team.“After his callback, Isaiah was asked to return once more — this time, for a two-hour basketball audition with retired NBA player Rick Fox. As a former collegiate football player, Isaiah credits his athleticism for helping him jump back into the world of basketball and nail the audition.“I’ve been playing basketball since I was little at the YMCA. I knew how to play the game. I just stopped [playing] organized basketball in sixth grade. That’s where my growth stopped,” he explains. “It’s one of them things where it’s muscle memory. I’m an athlete… The training part wasn’t what worried me, it was more so about the skills of playing the icon of Magic Johnson, one of the greatest basketball players to ever touch a ball.“RELATED VIDEO: LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers Win 2020 NBA Finals Nearly 9 Months After Kobe Bryant’s DeathNot long after his May 2019 basketball audition, Isaiah learned he had officially booked the part. By June of that year, he was out on the basketball court, shooting hoops with a coach for two hours each day.Though some would feel immense pressure playing someone as iconic as Johnson, Isaiah says he felt confident about his abilities, putting his trust in the team who trained him.“You can’t hold me to being Magic, in terms of what he did on the court. Of course, I want to get it right,” he says. “But at the same time, I got to trust my team. I got to trust that they’re not going to put me in a position to look like I don’t know what I’m doing. The directors, my writers, whatever scene it is, or whatever pass you need me to do, I got that in my arsenal.“As he prepares for the series premiere, Isaiah says he’s most excited for fans to learn more about the Lakers franchise and “how pivotal it was in basketball and entertainment.” He’s also looking forward to seeing where this project takes him down the line.“I just want to do good work,” he says. “I want to do work that I can look back at and be like, ‘I did something different. I did roles that I didn’t grow up with,’ and just offer a different perspective on the human life.“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynastypremieres Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream after on HBO Max.
Quincy Isaiah is ready to take the court.
In his first major acting role, Isaiah, 26, is playing a youngEarvin “Magic” Johnsonon HBO’sWinning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
The 10-episode sports drama will tell the story of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers — a team that featured Johnson,Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and famed head coach Pat Riley — and the dynasties that followed. Johnson’s story will also come to light, detailing his humble beginnings in Michigan to his league debut as theLakers’ 1980 first overall draft pick.
The role still feels surreal for Isaiah, who, just a few years ago, was also living in Michigan and on track to graduate college with a business degree.
“It’s one of the moments that you tell yourself that you can do, but until you actually do it, it’s not real. It still doesn’t feel real,” he tells PEOPLE. “I feel like ‘role of a lifetime’ is used loosely, but I really feel that way. I love basketball, I’m playing an icon, it’s a period piece, on HBO, Adam McKay project, all these great actors. It has all the things. There’s no other way around it for me.”
“My thing was, I just got to show up and work hard,” he adds. “I showed up with a can-do attitude. I think they saw that, and hopefully, my acting was good enough, and that’s what got me the part.”
Quincy Isaiah inWinning Time.hbo
Though Isaiah got his start in acting at a young age, it wasn’t until his senior year of college that he says he seriously began to pursue the craft.
“The summer before my senior year, I needed a calculus class. I looked at my major [requirements] and I had the same amount of credits for theater as I did my major, which was business,” he explains. “I was like, ‘I really dislike this calc class. I’m done. I’m going to just switch my major and go from there.’ So I ended up majoring in theater and I didn’t look back.”
“I was able to do two plays that year. I worked behind the scenes on another one, and it just made me fall in love with the craft of it,” he continues. “Theater really allowed me to be expressive, and be in my feelings, and act crazy, and… create with other people.”
After graduating in 2017, Isaiah moved from Muskegon to Los Angeles, where he began the painstaking audition process.
“That lit a fire under me, trying to get short films, and student films, and commercials, and just anything that I can show my work and show that I can do this,” he says, noting that he eventually signed with an agent and had the audition forWinning Timecome in soon after.
“At this point, I had been on so many [unsuccessful] auditions. I was just like, ‘Alright, let’s just have fun,'” he recalls. “So, I went in there, read off the paper, and I left. I didn’t think nothing of it.”
Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson.HBO
A few days later, Isaiah got a callback. It was then that he really began to study the part of Johnson.
“I was still like, ‘I can’t get my hopes up,’ but once I got that callback, I was like, ‘Okay, let’s work,'” he says. “I started doing my research, reading books, watching documentaries, all the things you do just to start building your character and figure out who I’m playing.”
It also helped that the young actor was already a fan of the Lakers.
“Growing up, I was a fan of Shaq [O’Neal], and he played for the Lakers. So, I was like, ‘I’m a Lakers fan,'” he shares. “The Lakers play a lot of good basketball. Even before LeBron got there, I was still watching them, just because I had recently moved [to L.A.] and I like the players that were on the team.”
After his callback, Isaiah was asked to return once more — this time, for a two-hour basketball audition with retired NBA player Rick Fox. As a former collegiate football player, Isaiah credits his athleticism for helping him jump back into the world of basketball and nail the audition.
“I’ve been playing basketball since I was little at the YMCA. I knew how to play the game. I just stopped [playing] organized basketball in sixth grade. That’s where my growth stopped,” he explains. “It’s one of them things where it’s muscle memory. I’m an athlete… The training part wasn’t what worried me, it was more so about the skills of playing the icon of Magic Johnson, one of the greatest basketball players to ever touch a ball.”
RELATED VIDEO: LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers Win 2020 NBA Finals Nearly 9 Months After Kobe Bryant’s Death
Not long after his May 2019 basketball audition, Isaiah learned he had officially booked the part. By June of that year, he was out on the basketball court, shooting hoops with a coach for two hours each day.
Though some would feel immense pressure playing someone as iconic as Johnson, Isaiah says he felt confident about his abilities, putting his trust in the team who trained him.
“You can’t hold me to being Magic, in terms of what he did on the court. Of course, I want to get it right,” he says. “But at the same time, I got to trust my team. I got to trust that they’re not going to put me in a position to look like I don’t know what I’m doing. The directors, my writers, whatever scene it is, or whatever pass you need me to do, I got that in my arsenal.”
As he prepares for the series premiere, Isaiah says he’s most excited for fans to learn more about the Lakers franchise and “how pivotal it was in basketball and entertainment.” He’s also looking forward to seeing where this project takes him down the line.
“I just want to do good work,” he says. “I want to do work that I can look back at and be like, ‘I did something different. I did roles that I didn’t grow up with,’ and just offer a different perspective on the human life.”
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynastypremieres Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream after on HBO Max.
source: people.com
