October 24, 2024 • 26 mins
On this episode of the Done There Been There podcast, co-hosts Mike Hill and Ephraim Salaam engage with Quincy Isaiah, who plays Magic Johnson in the HBO series 'Winning Time: The Rise of The Lakers Dynasty.' They discuss Quincy's journey to landing the role, the importance of mental health in navigating fame, and the pressures of acting. Quincy shares insights on transitioning from football to acting and the lessons learned along the way, emphasizing the significance of therapy and personal growth.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
This is the inflection collective ball of us, a connective, reflective, perspective,
respected defense ship shat No captains big facts of kick back.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
This sit for thunderad fit that Hey, what's up, everybody?
Welcome to another edition of the Done There Been There Podcast.
Mike Hill, my man, ephrom Slum. I'm hanging out with
you man and Ephraim. I know you love this show
as much as I do. Yes, Winny Time The Rise
of the Laker dynastas well.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
First off, I'm a Laker fan.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Of course you are like die hard, long suffering.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Unt, don't be playing.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Oh okay, all right.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Grew up in Inglewood, literally on the other side of
the Inglewood Cemetery where the Great Western form was. That's
where I grew up six diff in West Boulevard. So
I know this Winning Time era is the era where
I've really fell in love with basketball, with the Lakers,
(00:59):
with Magic, Yes, and it just it meant so much
to me to watch a show that like memorialized my
youth and love of basketball.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
And how Magic came to lead the Showtime era with
Kareem Barron Scott, and they get the Barron Scott's era
before it actually got canceled.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
But I was disappointed. I was I was said hurt
because they had.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Some tremendous acting on that show. Critically acclaimed on that show,
I mean it was just a John cy Riley who
played Jersey Buss and the guy who's hanging out with
us here today, Man, this guy encompassed every bit of
Magic Johnson. We welcome to the show on the done
there have been that podcast, Quincy Isaiah Man, Quincy Isaiah Man,
(01:45):
thanks for hanging out with us here today.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Again, thank you all for having me. Man.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
We are excited to have you here because we was
talking out there.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
You were Magic Johnson. And when I see you now, I.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Can't see.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
How does that feel, man, when people stop you on
the street and give you that compliment.
Speaker 6 (02:04):
So the biggest I think compliment that I get is
from people who live through that era. That again, like
you said, that's that's your childhood that you're reliving. And
for us to be able to capture that essence in
that show, like it leaves me speechless because like that's
why I act. You know, one of the reasons right
(02:25):
is to put that I don't know, like give people
not that necessarily an escape, but take them into an
alternate reality escape.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
Yeah, so think about it like this, have hard day
at work, whatever, kids, going crazy, work, boss, whatever that is.
You know the thing with entertainment is that that is
your escape. You know, when I get home, I'm an unwind,
relax wine, whatever that is. I'm gonna put my show on, right,
(02:55):
my win, I'm gonna put my winning time on.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And so as an actor.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
You get to be that release for people, right like
you look forward to new episode coming out, you look
forward to those type of things, and you were definitely
that look.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I when I heard that they were doing the show,
I was like, they gonna get to play Magic.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
He's such a larger than life character and personality and player,
in my opinion, greatest point guard to ever play. Now
we can debate about it, and some people say Steph Curry,
but like Magic.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Said, like you win, you know, three MVPs, you win.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Five championships, three finals MVPs. Until you do that, right,
until you do that, there's no conversation and just having
you like embody what Magic meant to so many people
and seeing it the way it was was amazing. How
(04:04):
was the transformation? First of all, take us back to
when you the process of you getting the role.
Speaker 6 (04:12):
So funny enough, I was thinking about making the maneuver
to the military, right, and I had I was still auditioning,
but like I kind of had auditions so much, and
I wasn't booking anything that I kind of had. I
don't want to say I lost a little bit of
(04:33):
hope right in terms of like this, maybe I'm maybe
I need more time and need to get older and
agent to the roles that I want to be doing right.
And I think I remember going into this audition and
I hadn't realized that the sides came with the audition
until the day of the audition. So I went and
printed out the sides. I walked in like the casting office.
(04:58):
It was a casting assistant just read it like read
off the paper. And then I didn't think much of
it and left. And then I ended up going back
to Michigan for my cousin's birthday. And while I was there,
I got an email saying that I got a callback.
And that's when I realized, because like I saw that
was magic. I didn't really think because I had done
(05:19):
a commercial, I had a call back for a commercial
playing Lebron James, like a few months before that, and
so I wasn't thinking too deep about it until I
got the call back. And then I saw HBO, Magic Johnson,
Adam McKay and all these you know, all these buzz
words like, oh, this is big, like, So from there,
you know, that's when I do my deep dive. I
(05:41):
read the book by Jeff Perlman Showtime, I started watching interviews.
I started watching Succession because Adam McKay that's their other show, right,
so it might be the same the similar style, right,
So I just tried to do as much research as
I could to figure out what it is I was
going into. So from there I did the car back.
(06:03):
They were great. They made me feel like real because
you're gonna be nervous, you know, and it's like it's
intimidating going into a room with all these producers and
writers and stuff, especially at that point in my career
where I wasn't I hadn't experienced anything like that. So
for me, for me to go in there and for
them to be laughing and like while I was doing
my audition, they made me just feel warm in there.
(06:25):
So I was just like all right, Bet and regardless
of if I get it or not. I made some
fans a day, right, So that was the way I
was looking at it.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well, the background of the show itself and the directors
and the producers is one thing, but magic is another.
Did you watch tape of Magic yea get a smile
down path before you actually went in there.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (06:45):
I mean, honestly though, I feel like, you know, I
was able to get into it a little bit and
like drawing my real life experiences, but it wasn't until
on set that I kind of figured out that like,
oh this is like it. There's a one of the
Rodney Barnes. He used to say, like do the thing,
(07:06):
and like I didn't understand until, like I want to say,
like episode three or four, season one, like there's an
energy that Magic has that like now, I'm a laid
back person, so it's like I can't be laid back
and play Magic. So it was like a way of
getting into that character that I had to find, and
it took a while to get there. But like you know,
(07:26):
there were you know, a little like little like in
the audition you saw it a little bit, right, But
like I don't think it wasn't until like me being
in that role a little bit longer that I was
able to like fully be that character.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
You know, it's.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
The Magic has a way. I know Magic known him
for a long time. He has a way of no
matter what room he walks into and whoever's in that room,
he can make you feel like he knows you and
you know him, whether you've never met him before. Magic
(08:05):
can come into a room full of people who've never
met him and make you feel like, oh, we go
way back. Oh my Magic, we go way back, man,
we go way back. And I'm not gonna lie. I
was very crazy, Like I told, Hi'm a die hard
Laker fan. Right, Magic's one of my favorite players of all time.
(08:27):
And so when I heard about the season, biggest question was, Okay,
who gonna play Magic?
Speaker 1 (08:33):
They but don't mess this up.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
I know Rodney Rodney is I'm talking about phenomenal writer.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Right, look up to Rodney.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
And when I watched the first episode, I said, oh,
I'm in I said, oh, this is it, this is everything.
And you know, we talk a lot about mental health preparation,
right of in a society, in an era where mental
(09:02):
health is prevalent, like there's no more secrecy about it.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
If you need help, you can get help.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
Uh, you took it upon yourself to work on your
mental health prior to diving into this iconic role. Talk
to us about that journey.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
Yeah, I think a big don't. I can't remember if
somebody told me like about therapy in general, or if
I was just like, I feel like I should do
this so that I'm prepared, right, And I wanted to
make sure that, like because we you know, we thought
this show is going to be huge, right, like and
it was like it was, but like I think the
(09:40):
way I thought about it was like I'm about to
be famous, Like my face is gonna be all over it,
and I wanted to make sure I was ready for
that because like I come from Miskegan, Michigan, which is
like a small town in Michigan.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Yeah, the major city outside that's the closest one, Okay,
on the west side.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
Everybody know Detroit that's on the east side. So it's
like I don't, I don't. And even Detroit, it's not
New York, it's not la it's not Chicago. So it's
like all these like it was a lot to digest, right,
So I think for me I wanted to make sure that, like,
regardless of what happened in my career, I built a
strong foundation that I could build on and making sure
(10:22):
that I knew what I wanted out of this right,
and that I wasn't going to allow other people to
tell me what I wanted, right. I wasn't gonna allow
people to put me in a box or put me
here or there. I'm like, Nah, this is what I
want out of this, and this is what I'm fighting for.
And it gave me like therapy, and I'm still in therapy.
So it's like it don't stop, right, It's just and
(10:44):
I have to realize that too, because everything that like
we worked on, like whether it's career relationships, like familiar relationships,
like it just it all bleeds into each other, right,
and understanding like boundaries and like again and what you
will and won't go for. And I think that was
really I needed that, you know. So it's a tough navigate.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
It's tough to navigate being as young as you are,
being in Hollywood. A lot that comes with it, you
know what I mean. And like, yeah, you get to
drive down sunset and see winning time in your face
on the side of a building.
Speaker 6 (11:26):
It's crazy and if you're not prepared for that, you
can let that shit go to your head.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
You you want to talk about sky high, people don't understand.
And we Mike mentioned at the beginning, it was two
seasons and then the show gets canceled. If you're not
grounded and everything you are are tied up into that show,
(11:50):
are that character, and now it no longer exists, there's
no way to go but downp And it's safe to
say that therapy has helped you navigate losing such an
iconic role and a show and to continue to push forward.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I'll tell you this.
Speaker 6 (12:08):
When I got the call that we were getting canceled,
it felt like a like something lifted off my shoulders.
Oh wow, because I feel like at that point we
was in the middle of the strike. We weren't promoting
the show. We had been getting, you know, hearing about
like the show might not get renewed, right, And for
me being in there, it felt like purgatory because I'm
(12:30):
just like sitting here waiting to either like get the
show picked up. I can't really book any other jobs,
and like, like you just said, like I always looked
at winning time as a job, right, it's not my career.
I want to have a career in this thing. So
it's like with winning time, it was a stepping stone
for me to now beat on podcasts, which you are
talking to y'all, like people know who I am now
(12:52):
and I'm meeting with heads of studios and stuff. So
it's like I'm ready to go to get that next
thing now, like I'm I'm trying to build forward.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
So it's like not being able to go do that.
Speaker 6 (13:03):
It felt like I was just waiting for my life
to get going, you know. And once they told us
that it was canceled, I was like, all right, bet
now I can go, Wow, go get the next job.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
It took some of the mental pressure off.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
H Like I'm just sitting there waiting to figure out
if we're going to get that third season or not.
And it's like if we got it, cool, now I
can plan accordingly, but like if not, either way, like
if we get the season three or we don't, I
get to prepare. But if I don't know if we're
going to do one or the other, I'm just sitting
there waiting for other people to tell me how I
(13:38):
get to live my life.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
For the next one.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
So it's interesting because, I mean, when an actor gets
a roll like that, especially on an HBO on a
big network, you think, Okay, I want to get eight
to nine seasons. I want to get that name out,
didn't want to make a lot of money or whatnot.
But people don't realize sometimes there is a lot of
pressure that comes along with that, and not knowing can
have a huge, huge impact on that pressure. Was it
(14:03):
hard for you to do even when you were in
those seasons? Did you feel that pressure? Did you feel
like there is a weight on you? Because this is
the done There Been that podcast, so we also share
our issues as well in our stories. I was in
a situation like that a couple of years ago where
I had a morning show and you know, I was
doing the Black News Channel, and it was a lot
of trauma that was going on.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Great lucrative job, it could have been doing.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
That for years, but it was tough for me to
get up in the morning to talk about that kind
of trauma and it was having a huge impact on
not just my physical but my mental health. And I
asked God, I said, God, if this is not what
you want me to do, take it away and give
me something else. Two days later it goes bankrupted and
I felt that. So when you said you felt a
(14:47):
weight lifted off your shoulder, even though it's devastating news,
I felt the weight lifted off my shoulder. So was
that did you feel like this is exactly what you
basically were looking for in a sense.
Speaker 6 (15:00):
So I remember somebody saying, like, you know, we want
to go for a season, like one of the higher ups,
and like I always, I always felt like five would
be a sweet spot, right, because like you don't want
to get into the role and not only people see magic, right.
I think one of the things that I get excited
about when people call me a quincy like as opposed
to a magic you know, because it shows like a
(15:24):
I don't know, like that I'm an actor that you
have like been able to disassociate from his character.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Right.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
So, going back though to your question, yeah, man, like
in it, it was some things that made me feel
like having this big of an opportunity and then having
certain things happen on set where you feel like I
should be grateful that I'm in this position.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I can't.
Speaker 6 (15:53):
Again, going back to the boundaries, I can't set boundaries
because I am on the HBO Show with John c
Riley and and Brody and Rob Morgan and to Maritonia,
all these people that I'm like that I hold in
high esteem. Why would I ever feel like I can
complain about something?
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Right? Why would I?
Speaker 6 (16:11):
And this built this multimillion dollar budget and all this,
But like being in that, you still got to understand
that you're a human, you have human needs and you
got you know, your mental health to deal with, so
like you got to figure that out. And I think
for me it was a process of like I had
to grow up too. I'll say I was immature, like
(16:33):
I was twenty twenty three when I booked it, and
like you know, I'm a I'm a do kid shot,
you know what I mean. So it's like like we
putting in fifteen hour days. I don't I don't know that,
Like I don't come from that. So it's like having
(16:53):
to adjust to that and then also be a professional
actor and like understand how to learn my lines, understand it,
how to show up ready, like and getting my body right.
It was a lot, you know, but like I wouldn't
have wanted to learn any other way. It's like try
by fight, right, Like I felt like just every season
or every month of that show, I was able to
(17:17):
like learn and pick up from these other experienced actors.
And that's why again, I just think that was the
best grad school like for acting that I could have
ever had.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
You know, and you play magic, greatest basketball player of
all time, of one of the greatest of all time,
but you were a football player. Yeah, right, and so
you played offensive line, that's right, right, you lost some
(17:50):
weight obviously.
Speaker 6 (17:52):
I started at like three fifteen, and like, I don't
want to go because like in high school, I injured
my hill. I went up to like three fifteen was
probably my heaviest, but like from there I started going down.
So like by the time I got to my junior
year of college, I was probably like two sixty, and
like that's when I was like, all right, I'm done
(18:14):
playing football because we was losing. We were trashed, and
I came from a good high school and I was like, yo, this,
I can't do this. Plus I wanted to get into acting,
so I think I was just like, you know what
this is rand this course, I'm gonna go join the theater.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
And what position on the offensive line? Everywhere? Man, you
played everywhere center guard tackle. You played left tackle.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Right said the team was trash.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
He had to play.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
I started as a as a freshman too, so like
that was like like and nobody had started.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
So I don't know. I just said that to be like.
I was nice.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
But that's good because I played offensive line. I played
left tackle, played right tackle. Play a long time in
the NFL, and so when I found that out about you,
I was like, like, this is amazing. Right in my mind,
in high school basketball football got recruited for both.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
At a certain point I had to pick. I've chose football.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
It worked out, but in my mind, I'm a basketball guy.
Like I'm a basketball guy. I just was playing football, right.
Even on my draft report, it was one of my
positives were basketball player, great hands, great feet, right, So
(19:33):
I always used basketball as a way to stay in
front of as an offensive lineman, stay in front of
my opponent or the defensive end or the linebacker or
something like that, that lateral movement. I just you know,
I just wanted to bond with you as two big
uglies as they like.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
It is a brotherhood.
Speaker 6 (19:56):
Because we do most of the work and don't get
anybody for it.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
And this is why you're successful.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
I sound like to me, I'm just sound like, did
you did you play?
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I play footballer us position? Play quarterback? Of course I
hate quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
So maybe that's why the team you hated your quarterback
and you didn't.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Blot for him, and they should have put me on
the D line.
Speaker 6 (20:22):
I wanted to play there. I would have messed somebody up. Okay,
see there you go, man.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
See that's why we all need mental health. Man. Look,
I'm gonna tell you right now. I just met you, brother,
but I like you.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I know you're going to have a long, successful career
here in LA because you got the right attitude, you
got the foundation. I'm so happy that you're taking care
of your mental health and they prepared.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
You for everything.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
I wish somebody would have told me a long time
ago when I was your age how important therapy was.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Man.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Now moving forward, since that, you know, I guess you
can say the disappointment which is going to turn into
a blessing eventually or whatnot? Moving forward, dealing with every
thing that you got going on, still going out here,
still trying to make that name for yourself and being
a superstar, how would you say therapy has helped you,
and before we get you out of here, give me
that one time where you feel like you've done there
(21:13):
and you've been there.
Speaker 6 (21:15):
So this is even more recent from a more recent session,
like instead of like my therapist was just we was
talking about like a deal that I was, you know,
I was talking it out with her, and she was like,
instead of talking about what you don't want or what
other like what you don't like about it? What do
(21:36):
you want? Like, what do you want out of this deal?
What do you like? What is it that would make
you happy? Focus on that. Don't focus on these other things.
That's arbitrary, right, Get what you want out of the
situation and put your energy into that, because when you
start putting your energy in the things that you don't want,
they gonna show themselves up right as opposed to like
(21:58):
the things that you do and being clear about that, right.
So I think that was one thing that I've been
I feel like I will continue to like push for
It's like what do I want to do and making
sure that I'm putting all my energy in what is
that next? I mean movies, TV, producing, you know, just
(22:19):
doing always shifting the model like I want to I
want to be eclectic, you know, in my in my
in my acting style, so anything, I just I just
want to be able to do it all man, And
been there done that? Like wait done, there been there done,
They're done, there be.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Done.
Speaker 6 (22:42):
But even when I said, I was like, no, that done,
there been that? Like yeah, man, I think talking about
football in the transition from football in the in the acting,
I think I really dislike when people say that I
had quit football because I stopped playing after my junior year. Right,
(23:03):
I felt like I didn't quit. I felt like it
had ran its course, and like I was able to
transition into something that I found a new passion that
I found right, and that allowed me to be like, nah,
like I don't I didn't quit.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I just I made a pivot.
Speaker 5 (23:22):
You made a choice, you made a transition, and that's important.
A lot of people don't understand that. Right, I've had contemporaries.
I played thirteen years. I probably could have played three
four more years. But I it run its course. I
was like, look, it's so much other stuff, so many
things that I wanted to do that I was doing
(23:44):
in the off season.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Anyway.
Speaker 5 (23:46):
I really wanted to dedicate myself to doing something else.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
So I applaud you for being mature enough.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
Listening to other people right to make that pivot and
look where it's taken you a little magic, you know,
also applaud.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
You because of what you said. Man, you didn't want
to even though you could have been on that show,
could have been Nobody wants to be pigeonholed. And you've
seen as magic, you know what I mean, because after
a while he's on that show, five or six years,
you magic, then you're then you're definitely magic.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Same thing, man.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
I think we've both been in a situation where start
off as a sportscaster, started doing news, entertainment, podcasts, acting,
I'm doing stand up comedy. And I'm proud of this
brother right here because he's done the same thing out
of the NFL.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
But he's much more than just an NFL player, you.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Now he's he's acted, he's producing, writing, he's doing all
that type of stuff like that. And now we got
the podcast and we're doing much more bigger things. So
continue to do great things. My brother, you got you
got a fan and me and super fan and.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
I got something for you.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Yeah, this guy got the connection you got ship for me.
You know what I'm saying, because I'm at a what.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
You in your first movie?
Speaker 4 (25:01):
You did okay in the background, that's okay. You did
put me in my first I was.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
I was, And I get a lot of people to
tell that little small ass part in the background.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
With no lines.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
People like, is that Mike, Look, this is what I'm
just it's coming.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
That's it, man.
Speaker 3 (25:22):
I stick with doing what you're doing, my brother man,
because you got a bright future ahead of you.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Man.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Appreciate man Quincy Isaiah hanging out with here and have
done there have been that podcast.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Man, Thanks for your time, Bro, appreciate you. Thank you,
brother man. That's good.
Speaker 5 (25:38):
Yeah them all day y'all.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
This is the inflection collective part for a connected reflective perspective, perspective,
defensive ship shot, no captainspect facts of kicks back this
year there be that
Y'all.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
This is the inflection collective ball of us, a connective, reflective, perspective,
respected defense ship shat No captains big facts of kick back.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
This sit for thunderad fit that Hey, what's up, everybody?
Welcome to another edition of the Done There Been There Podcast.
Mike Hill, my man, ephrom Slum. I'm hanging out with
you man and Ephraim. I know you love this show
as much as I do. Yes, Winny Time The Rise
of the Laker dynastas well.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
First off, I'm a Laker fan.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Of course you are like die hard, long suffering.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Unt, don't be playing.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Oh okay, all right.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Grew up in Inglewood, literally on the other side of
the Inglewood Cemetery where the Great Western form was. That's
where I grew up six diff in West Boulevard. So
I know this Winning Time era is the era where
I've really fell in love with basketball, with the Lakers,
(00:59):
with Magic, Yes, and it just it meant so much
to me to watch a show that like memorialized my
youth and love of basketball.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
And how Magic came to lead the Showtime era with
Kareem Barron Scott, and they get the Barron Scott's era
before it actually got canceled.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
But I was disappointed. I was I was said hurt
because they had.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Some tremendous acting on that show. Critically acclaimed on that show,
I mean it was just a John cy Riley who
played Jersey Buss and the guy who's hanging out with
us here today, Man, this guy encompassed every bit of
Magic Johnson. We welcome to the show on the done
there have been that podcast, Quincy Isaiah Man, Quincy Isaiah Man,
(01:45):
thanks for hanging out with us here today.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Again, thank you all for having me. Man.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
We are excited to have you here because we was
talking out there.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
You were Magic Johnson. And when I see you now, I.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Can't see.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
How does that feel, man, when people stop you on
the street and give you that compliment.
Speaker 6 (02:04):
So the biggest I think compliment that I get is
from people who live through that era. That again, like
you said, that's that's your childhood that you're reliving. And
for us to be able to capture that essence in
that show, like it leaves me speechless because like that's
why I act. You know, one of the reasons right
(02:25):
is to put that I don't know, like give people
not that necessarily an escape, but take them into an
alternate reality escape.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
Yeah, so think about it like this, have hard day
at work, whatever, kids, going crazy, work, boss, whatever that is.
You know the thing with entertainment is that that is
your escape. You know, when I get home, I'm an unwind,
relax wine, whatever that is. I'm gonna put my show on, right,
(02:55):
my win, I'm gonna put my winning time on.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And so as an actor.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
You get to be that release for people, right like
you look forward to new episode coming out, you look
forward to those type of things, and you were definitely
that look.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I when I heard that they were doing the show,
I was like, they gonna get to play Magic.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
He's such a larger than life character and personality and player,
in my opinion, greatest point guard to ever play. Now
we can debate about it, and some people say Steph Curry,
but like Magic.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Said, like you win, you know, three MVPs, you win.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Five championships, three finals MVPs. Until you do that, right,
until you do that, there's no conversation and just having
you like embody what Magic meant to so many people
and seeing it the way it was was amazing. How
(04:04):
was the transformation? First of all, take us back to
when you the process of you getting the role.
Speaker 6 (04:12):
So funny enough, I was thinking about making the maneuver
to the military, right, and I had I was still auditioning,
but like I kind of had auditions so much, and
I wasn't booking anything that I kind of had. I
don't want to say I lost a little bit of
(04:33):
hope right in terms of like this, maybe I'm maybe
I need more time and need to get older and
agent to the roles that I want to be doing right.
And I think I remember going into this audition and
I hadn't realized that the sides came with the audition
until the day of the audition. So I went and
printed out the sides. I walked in like the casting office.
(04:58):
It was a casting assistant just read it like read
off the paper. And then I didn't think much of
it and left. And then I ended up going back
to Michigan for my cousin's birthday. And while I was there,
I got an email saying that I got a callback.
And that's when I realized, because like I saw that
was magic. I didn't really think because I had done
(05:19):
a commercial, I had a call back for a commercial
playing Lebron James, like a few months before that, and
so I wasn't thinking too deep about it until I
got the call back. And then I saw HBO, Magic Johnson,
Adam McKay and all these you know, all these buzz
words like, oh, this is big, like, So from there,
you know, that's when I do my deep dive. I
(05:41):
read the book by Jeff Perlman Showtime, I started watching interviews.
I started watching Succession because Adam McKay that's their other show, right,
so it might be the same the similar style, right,
So I just tried to do as much research as
I could to figure out what it is I was
going into. So from there I did the car back.
(06:03):
They were great. They made me feel like real because
you're gonna be nervous, you know, and it's like it's
intimidating going into a room with all these producers and
writers and stuff, especially at that point in my career
where I wasn't I hadn't experienced anything like that. So
for me, for me to go in there and for
them to be laughing and like while I was doing
my audition, they made me just feel warm in there.
(06:25):
So I was just like all right, Bet and regardless
of if I get it or not. I made some
fans a day, right, So that was the way I
was looking at it.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Well, the background of the show itself and the directors
and the producers is one thing, but magic is another.
Did you watch tape of Magic yea get a smile
down path before you actually went in there.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (06:45):
I mean, honestly though, I feel like, you know, I
was able to get into it a little bit and
like drawing my real life experiences, but it wasn't until
on set that I kind of figured out that like,
oh this is like it. There's a one of the
Rodney Barnes. He used to say, like do the thing,
(07:06):
and like I didn't understand until, like I want to say,
like episode three or four, season one, like there's an
energy that Magic has that like now, I'm a laid
back person, so it's like I can't be laid back
and play Magic. So it was like a way of
getting into that character that I had to find, and
it took a while to get there. But like you know,
(07:26):
there were you know, a little like little like in
the audition you saw it a little bit, right, But
like I don't think it wasn't until like me being
in that role a little bit longer that I was
able to like fully be that character.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
You know, it's.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
The Magic has a way. I know Magic known him
for a long time. He has a way of no
matter what room he walks into and whoever's in that room,
he can make you feel like he knows you and
you know him, whether you've never met him before. Magic
(08:05):
can come into a room full of people who've never
met him and make you feel like, oh, we go
way back. Oh my Magic, we go way back, man,
we go way back. And I'm not gonna lie. I
was very crazy, Like I told, Hi'm a die hard
Laker fan. Right, Magic's one of my favorite players of all time.
(08:27):
And so when I heard about the season, biggest question was, Okay,
who gonna play Magic?
Speaker 1 (08:33):
They but don't mess this up.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
I know Rodney Rodney is I'm talking about phenomenal writer.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Right, look up to Rodney.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
And when I watched the first episode, I said, oh,
I'm in I said, oh, this is it, this is everything.
And you know, we talk a lot about mental health preparation,
right of in a society, in an era where mental
(09:02):
health is prevalent, like there's no more secrecy about it.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
If you need help, you can get help.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
Uh, you took it upon yourself to work on your
mental health prior to diving into this iconic role. Talk
to us about that journey.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
Yeah, I think a big don't. I can't remember if
somebody told me like about therapy in general, or if
I was just like, I feel like I should do
this so that I'm prepared, right, And I wanted to
make sure that, like because we you know, we thought
this show is going to be huge, right, like and
it was like it was, but like I think the
(09:40):
way I thought about it was like I'm about to
be famous, Like my face is gonna be all over it,
and I wanted to make sure I was ready for
that because like I come from Miskegan, Michigan, which is
like a small town in Michigan.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Yeah, the major city outside that's the closest one, Okay,
on the west side.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
Everybody know Detroit that's on the east side. So it's
like I don't, I don't. And even Detroit, it's not
New York, it's not la it's not Chicago. So it's
like all these like it was a lot to digest, right,
So I think for me I wanted to make sure that, like,
regardless of what happened in my career, I built a
strong foundation that I could build on and making sure
(10:22):
that I knew what I wanted out of this right,
and that I wasn't going to allow other people to
tell me what I wanted, right. I wasn't gonna allow
people to put me in a box or put me
here or there. I'm like, Nah, this is what I
want out of this, and this is what I'm fighting for.
And it gave me like therapy, and I'm still in therapy.
So it's like it don't stop, right, It's just and
(10:44):
I have to realize that too, because everything that like
we worked on, like whether it's career relationships, like familiar relationships,
like it just it all bleeds into each other, right,
and understanding like boundaries and like again and what you
will and won't go for. And I think that was
really I needed that, you know. So it's a tough navigate.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
It's tough to navigate being as young as you are,
being in Hollywood. A lot that comes with it, you
know what I mean. And like, yeah, you get to
drive down sunset and see winning time in your face
on the side of a building.
Speaker 6 (11:26):
It's crazy and if you're not prepared for that, you
can let that shit go to your head.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
You you want to talk about sky high, people don't understand.
And we Mike mentioned at the beginning, it was two
seasons and then the show gets canceled. If you're not
grounded and everything you are are tied up into that show,
(11:50):
are that character, and now it no longer exists, there's
no way to go but downp And it's safe to
say that therapy has helped you navigate losing such an
iconic role and a show and to continue to push forward.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I'll tell you this.
Speaker 6 (12:08):
When I got the call that we were getting canceled,
it felt like a like something lifted off my shoulders.
Oh wow, because I feel like at that point we
was in the middle of the strike. We weren't promoting
the show. We had been getting, you know, hearing about
like the show might not get renewed, right, And for
me being in there, it felt like purgatory because I'm
(12:30):
just like sitting here waiting to either like get the
show picked up. I can't really book any other jobs,
and like, like you just said, like I always looked
at winning time as a job, right, it's not my career.
I want to have a career in this thing. So
it's like with winning time, it was a stepping stone
for me to now beat on podcasts, which you are
talking to y'all, like people know who I am now
(12:52):
and I'm meeting with heads of studios and stuff. So
it's like I'm ready to go to get that next
thing now, like I'm I'm trying to build forward.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
So it's like not being able to go do that.
Speaker 6 (13:03):
It felt like I was just waiting for my life
to get going, you know. And once they told us
that it was canceled, I was like, all right, bet
now I can go, Wow, go get the next job.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
It took some of the mental pressure off.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
H Like I'm just sitting there waiting to figure out
if we're going to get that third season or not.
And it's like if we got it, cool, now I
can plan accordingly, but like if not, either way, like
if we get the season three or we don't, I
get to prepare. But if I don't know if we're
going to do one or the other, I'm just sitting
there waiting for other people to tell me how I
(13:38):
get to live my life.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
For the next one.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
So it's interesting because, I mean, when an actor gets
a roll like that, especially on an HBO on a
big network, you think, Okay, I want to get eight
to nine seasons. I want to get that name out,
didn't want to make a lot of money or whatnot.
But people don't realize sometimes there is a lot of
pressure that comes along with that, and not knowing can
have a huge, huge impact on that pressure. Was it
(14:03):
hard for you to do even when you were in
those seasons? Did you feel that pressure? Did you feel
like there is a weight on you? Because this is
the done There Been that podcast, so we also share
our issues as well in our stories. I was in
a situation like that a couple of years ago where
I had a morning show and you know, I was
doing the Black News Channel, and it was a lot
of trauma that was going on.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
Great lucrative job, it could have been doing.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
That for years, but it was tough for me to
get up in the morning to talk about that kind
of trauma and it was having a huge impact on
not just my physical but my mental health. And I
asked God, I said, God, if this is not what
you want me to do, take it away and give
me something else. Two days later it goes bankrupted and
I felt that. So when you said you felt a
(14:47):
weight lifted off your shoulder, even though it's devastating news,
I felt the weight lifted off my shoulder. So was
that did you feel like this is exactly what you
basically were looking for in a sense.
Speaker 6 (15:00):
So I remember somebody saying, like, you know, we want
to go for a season, like one of the higher ups,
and like I always, I always felt like five would
be a sweet spot, right, because like you don't want
to get into the role and not only people see magic, right.
I think one of the things that I get excited
about when people call me a quincy like as opposed
to a magic you know, because it shows like a
(15:24):
I don't know, like that I'm an actor that you
have like been able to disassociate from his character.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Right.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
So, going back though to your question, yeah, man, like
in it, it was some things that made me feel
like having this big of an opportunity and then having
certain things happen on set where you feel like I
should be grateful that I'm in this position.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I can't.
Speaker 6 (15:53):
Again, going back to the boundaries, I can't set boundaries
because I am on the HBO Show with John c
Riley and and Brody and Rob Morgan and to Maritonia,
all these people that I'm like that I hold in
high esteem. Why would I ever feel like I can
complain about something?
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Right? Why would I?
Speaker 6 (16:11):
And this built this multimillion dollar budget and all this,
But like being in that, you still got to understand
that you're a human, you have human needs and you
got you know, your mental health to deal with, so
like you got to figure that out. And I think
for me it was a process of like I had
to grow up too. I'll say I was immature, like
(16:33):
I was twenty twenty three when I booked it, and
like you know, I'm a I'm a do kid shot,
you know what I mean. So it's like like we
putting in fifteen hour days. I don't I don't know that,
Like I don't come from that. So it's like having
(16:53):
to adjust to that and then also be a professional
actor and like understand how to learn my lines, understand it,
how to show up ready, like and getting my body right.
It was a lot, you know, but like I wouldn't
have wanted to learn any other way. It's like try
by fight, right, Like I felt like just every season
or every month of that show, I was able to
(17:17):
like learn and pick up from these other experienced actors.
And that's why again, I just think that was the
best grad school like for acting that I could have
ever had.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
You know, and you play magic, greatest basketball player of
all time, of one of the greatest of all time,
but you were a football player. Yeah, right, and so
you played offensive line, that's right, right, you lost some
(17:50):
weight obviously.
Speaker 6 (17:52):
I started at like three fifteen, and like, I don't
want to go because like in high school, I injured
my hill. I went up to like three fifteen was
probably my heaviest, but like from there I started going down.
So like by the time I got to my junior
year of college, I was probably like two sixty, and
like that's when I was like, all right, I'm done
(18:14):
playing football because we was losing. We were trashed, and
I came from a good high school and I was like, yo, this,
I can't do this. Plus I wanted to get into acting,
so I think I was just like, you know what
this is rand this course, I'm gonna go join the theater.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
And what position on the offensive line? Everywhere? Man, you
played everywhere center guard tackle. You played left tackle.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Right said the team was trash.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
He had to play.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
I started as a as a freshman too, so like
that was like like and nobody had started.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
So I don't know. I just said that to be like.
I was nice.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
But that's good because I played offensive line. I played
left tackle, played right tackle. Play a long time in
the NFL, and so when I found that out about you,
I was like, like, this is amazing. Right in my mind,
in high school basketball football got recruited for both.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
At a certain point I had to pick. I've chose football.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
It worked out, but in my mind, I'm a basketball guy.
Like I'm a basketball guy. I just was playing football, right.
Even on my draft report, it was one of my
positives were basketball player, great hands, great feet, right, So
(19:33):
I always used basketball as a way to stay in
front of as an offensive lineman, stay in front of
my opponent or the defensive end or the linebacker or
something like that, that lateral movement. I just you know,
I just wanted to bond with you as two big
uglies as they like.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
It is a brotherhood.
Speaker 6 (19:56):
Because we do most of the work and don't get
anybody for it.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
And this is why you're successful.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
I sound like to me, I'm just sound like, did
you did you play?
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I play footballer us position? Play quarterback? Of course I
hate quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
So maybe that's why the team you hated your quarterback
and you didn't.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Blot for him, and they should have put me on
the D line.
Speaker 6 (20:22):
I wanted to play there. I would have messed somebody up. Okay,
see there you go, man.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
See that's why we all need mental health. Man. Look,
I'm gonna tell you right now. I just met you, brother,
but I like you.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I know you're going to have a long, successful career
here in LA because you got the right attitude, you
got the foundation. I'm so happy that you're taking care
of your mental health and they prepared.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
You for everything.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
I wish somebody would have told me a long time
ago when I was your age how important therapy was.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Man.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Now moving forward, since that, you know, I guess you
can say the disappointment which is going to turn into
a blessing eventually or whatnot? Moving forward, dealing with every
thing that you got going on, still going out here,
still trying to make that name for yourself and being
a superstar, how would you say therapy has helped you,
and before we get you out of here, give me
that one time where you feel like you've done there
(21:13):
and you've been there.
Speaker 6 (21:15):
So this is even more recent from a more recent session,
like instead of like my therapist was just we was
talking about like a deal that I was, you know,
I was talking it out with her, and she was like,
instead of talking about what you don't want or what
other like what you don't like about it? What do
(21:36):
you want? Like, what do you want out of this deal?
What do you like? What is it that would make
you happy? Focus on that. Don't focus on these other things.
That's arbitrary, right, Get what you want out of the
situation and put your energy into that, because when you
start putting your energy in the things that you don't want,
they gonna show themselves up right as opposed to like
(21:58):
the things that you do and being clear about that, right.
So I think that was one thing that I've been
I feel like I will continue to like push for
It's like what do I want to do and making
sure that I'm putting all my energy in what is
that next? I mean movies, TV, producing, you know, just
(22:19):
doing always shifting the model like I want to I
want to be eclectic, you know, in my in my
in my acting style, so anything, I just I just
want to be able to do it all man, And
been there done that? Like wait done, there been there done,
They're done, there be.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Done.
Speaker 6 (22:42):
But even when I said, I was like, no, that done,
there been that? Like yeah, man, I think talking about
football in the transition from football in the in the acting,
I think I really dislike when people say that I
had quit football because I stopped playing after my junior year. Right,
(23:03):
I felt like I didn't quit. I felt like it
had ran its course, and like I was able to
transition into something that I found a new passion that
I found right, and that allowed me to be like, nah,
like I don't I didn't quit.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I just I made a pivot.
Speaker 5 (23:22):
You made a choice, you made a transition, and that's important.
A lot of people don't understand that. Right, I've had contemporaries.
I played thirteen years. I probably could have played three
four more years. But I it run its course. I
was like, look, it's so much other stuff, so many
things that I wanted to do that I was doing
(23:44):
in the off season.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Anyway.
Speaker 5 (23:46):
I really wanted to dedicate myself to doing something else.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
So I applaud you for being mature enough.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
Listening to other people right to make that pivot and
look where it's taken you a little magic, you know,
also applaud.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
You because of what you said. Man, you didn't want
to even though you could have been on that show,
could have been Nobody wants to be pigeonholed. And you've
seen as magic, you know what I mean, because after
a while he's on that show, five or six years,
you magic, then you're then you're definitely magic.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Same thing, man.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
I think we've both been in a situation where start
off as a sportscaster, started doing news, entertainment, podcasts, acting,
I'm doing stand up comedy. And I'm proud of this
brother right here because he's done the same thing out
of the NFL.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
But he's much more than just an NFL player, you.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Now he's he's acted, he's producing, writing, he's doing all
that type of stuff like that. And now we got
the podcast and we're doing much more bigger things. So
continue to do great things. My brother, you got you
got a fan and me and super fan and.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
I got something for you.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Yeah, this guy got the connection you got ship for me.
You know what I'm saying, because I'm at a what.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
You in your first movie?
Speaker 4 (25:01):
You did okay in the background, that's okay. You did
put me in my first I was.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
I was, And I get a lot of people to
tell that little small ass part in the background.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
With no lines.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
People like, is that Mike, Look, this is what I'm
just it's coming.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
That's it, man.
Speaker 3 (25:22):
I stick with doing what you're doing, my brother man,
because you got a bright future ahead of you.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Man.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Appreciate man Quincy Isaiah hanging out with here and have
done there have been that podcast.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Man, Thanks for your time, Bro, appreciate you. Thank you,
brother man. That's good.
Speaker 5 (25:38):
Yeah them all day y'all.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
This is the inflection collective part for a connected reflective perspective, perspective,
defensive ship shot, no captainspect facts of kicks back this
year there be that
Hosts And Creators
Mike Hill
Eunice Elliott
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