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The young actor plays the famous American basketball player of the 1980s in the new series “Winning Time” on OCS.
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- Henry Arnaud, Los Angeles
The American comedian Quincy Isaiah is honored to embody the mythical Magic Johnson, in a soap opera.
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Totally unknown in Hollywood, Quincy Isaiah owes his luck to his resemblance to the young Magic Johnson of the 1980s, before the basketball player became a sports legend. At 26, the American actor embodies this former Lakers team in the new series “Winning Time”, on OCS, which traces the history of this team.
What was your reaction when you were asked to play Magic Johnson?
Being Magic Johnson is the role of a lifetime! Basketball was my first love and I hoped to one day turn professional, like thousands of kids. It is therefore an incredible opportunity to be able to embody one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Especially since I’m from the state of Michigan in the USA, like Magic! I was not born in the 1980s but, in my youth, I was a big fan of Shaquille O’Neal, therefore necessarily of the Lakers team.
Is there a form of pressure when you have to embody a legendary basketball player?
It’s complicated because I play a hero who is adored by so many people. It is therefore difficult to show that he is also a man who makes mistakes or can fail. One cannot play such a role if one does not have a deep admiration for the person. My challenge was to show the Magic hero, but also the human.
Did you meet Magic Johnson before playing him on screen?
No, but we are lucky to be in the age of the internet with hundreds of videos on YouTube that allowed me to train to replicate his movements as best as possible. I know that the producers met hundreds of young actors before hiring me. So everything went very quickly following signing my contract until filming. I mainly focused on the complicity between Magic and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, his teammate (note: played by Solomon Hughes). They were very different in their personalities, but it was their togetherness during matches that made the Lakers strong.
“Winning Time” is your first major series. Do you have to be an excellent basketball player to land this role?
You have to be just good enough to pretend well (laughs). It’s a series regarding basketball so I have to make sure every move is made to look like Johnson on the court. But I don’t want people to think that I’m as good a basketball player as Magic because I don’t want to be challenged on a basketball court (laughs). I pretend to be a legend, I’m not!
