“I had about seven days to prepare for this character!” , confessed John C. Reilly, the protagonist of Winning Time, in conversation with Infobae. The new HBO and HBO Max fiction, which opens every Sunday night, is one of today's outstanding titles and has the actor as the protagonist, in the role of Jerry Buss. “When I was offered the role, I was a week away from filming the pilot. Some changes were made to the cast and my friend Adam McKay (Don't look above) called me and asked me to do it.”
The actor is a film and television star, but little recognized by the mass audience. His face appeared in classic contemporary films: Magnolia, Gangs of New York and Chicago, just to mention a few of his career. He is currently the protagonist of Winning Time on HBO Central Time. “Dr. Jerry Buss was the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. He bought the equipment in 1979 and that's where our story begins. He was an incredible character, a true American success story. He got involved in the real estate business and became a very successful tycoon in the business, but one day he became interested in owning a sports team,” Reilly tells his character in his own voice.
Based on Jeff Pearlman's book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers”, the HBO production follows the professional and private lives of Los Angeles Lakers team members since 1980 and during their glory years: sports mystique, lots of basketball, but also business and excesses. In fact, the first teaser listens to actor John C. Reilly playing Jerry Buss saying, “There are two things in this world that make me believe in God: sex and basketball.” Reilly confirmed what his relationship with the character was and is like: “He is one of the most complicated and fascinating characters I have ever played.”
The complexity of the script and the character, is well portrayed in how the actor describes it: “There was a lot of talk about whether he was some kind of swindler, but I don't think so. He encouraged people to dream big and used his trust as a badge of honor. He was also a brilliant strategist: he was a great poker player. He used that ability to read people and know when deals were closing, what was the right move and know when someone was lying. Or just to find out when he was defeated. He was all those things.”
Each and every one of the characters bears a very close resemblance to their real-life figure. Even Quincy Isaiah has a rather precise physical closeness to Magic Johnson. However, John C. Reilly doesn't fully believe in his resemblance until he gets help from the Art team: “I look like enough with a little help with hair and makeup.” But he remarked with restraint that it was not at all easy to interpret: “Because of the instinctive way I had of approaching the character and the amount of time I was going to be with him, I decided that once we started moving forward, I would only read the episode we were filming. I haven't read all season. So when I was acting, I was really at that moment with that character: what he knew, I knew. I think that helped me stay fresh and instinctive, and also to handle the stress of playing this intense man.”
Despite this particular and important profile for the history of the NBA and of sports as shows in general, the series, for many viewers, is still quite specific and they will fall into confusion as to whether it is a show about basketball, the NBA and the Los Angeles Lakers. About this, Reilly has a clear idea: “Winning Time offers something more in how a human being goes through these intense experiences. And I think it's something that anyone can relate to, whether you're at work to sell insurance or are dealing with a serious illness in your family. You can relate to someone who is going to try to win a basketball championship like someone who is going through an illness in their family or a problem at work.”
Finally, the actor also highlights the racial differences within sports at a complicated stage where there was no awareness that today manifests itself in the West with these issues. “It also examines relations between blacks and whites at a very tense time in US history. Unfortunately, we are still in a very difficult time with those kinds of problems. This is very evident in culture because basketball, in this case, is also the channel through which we move and relate, but we are analyzing more important human issues”, said the actor for the more human factor.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty premiered on HBO and HBO Max on March 6 and with two episodes already on the platform, every Sunday presents a new episode.
KEEP READING: