To channel real-life NBA legends Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in HBO’s new off-the-walls mostly-based-on-a-true-story drama Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, actors Quincy Isaiah and Dr. Solomon Hughes went through rigorous training. By following thorough exercise plans and remaining mindful of their food intake, Isaiah and Hughes were able to replicate the aesthetic and the unmatched finesse that Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar held during the “Showtime” era of the ‘80s and ‘90s—and that came with lots and lots of winning. Equally as intense was recreating the emotional turmoil these players faced during that time.
Winning Time—executive produced by Academy Award-winner Adam McKay, who already executive produces a major HBO hit in Succession—marks the major acting debut for both Isaiah and Hughes. Prior to boarding the project, both men were in different places; Isaiah was looking for acting work, biding the time working bartending and restaurant jobs while waiting for his breakthrough; Hughes played basketball at Cal for three years before earning his doctorate and entering the field of education. Fast forward, and now they’re playing two of the most famous athletes of all time in perhaps their most defining moments; at 43, Hughes remembers some of the events depicted in the show from his childhood watching the NBA, but Isaiah, 26, hadn’t even born yet.
HBO
While the real-life personalities haven’t exactly endorsed the R-rated story being told in Winning Time, the show does use the source material (journalist Jeff Pearlman’s book) to paint a picture of these larger-than-life personalities that hasn’t been told before in such a bright, visual medium. It takes until midway through the show’s first season for Magic and Kareem to even meet, but it’s clear from the jump that these two have a chemistry—and it’s one that, thankfully for both HBO and the viewers at home, these performers are more than capable of conveying.
Hughes and Isaiah spoke to Men’s Health about making their way onto Winning Time, transforming their bodies, and becoming a pair of basketball legends.
When you were transforming into Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, what was your workout plan?
Isaiah: I booked the role, and within a month we started workouts, just trying to get lean muscle. Naturally, I’m a football player and I carry weight, and then I was suddenly trying to get more of a slender-looking frame. So, it was a lot of running. And also, just learning how to move like Magic did on the court, which was very much a finesse game that he had. Less powerful and more spiritual, in a way, that he would move on the court. It went from regular workouts to basketball workouts—which would go for an hour to two hours—just about every day.
HBO
Hughes: I lost 30 pounds, just to kind of mimic what an ‘80s basketball player’s body looked like in the NBA. Strength training is more important to the game, I think, now, than it was in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Kareem is very toned and slender. I think people think of him as this beanpole, but there’s that really famous cover of him on Sports Illustrated where the definition is just insane. I mean, every muscle is bulging out of his body. And then there was conditioning.
After I got the part, I came down to L.A. to do some fittings. And they had Quincy, myself and Delante [Desousa, who plays Michael Cooper] meet at UCLA in one of the practice gyms. I walk in, and I see Quincy do a spin move. And I’m thinking, “Oh, they’re not playing, this is real.” So I was like “Game on.” Nothing about this was ever taken lightly. I remember practicing the skyhook, which is the most original, graceful, elegant, offensive move in the history of basketball. I was trying to capture some of that elegance. I did a lot of reps at the gym, shooting with the right hand and shooting with the left hand.
Warrick Page/HBO
Did you guys have a Winning Time meal plan?
Isaiah: It [consisted of] a lot of protein, and not too many carbs. It was difficult at first, but I think once we got in the groove, it became easier. I found different ways of making it work, whether it was fasting for a certain amount of time and eating at this time, or adding protein shakes to my diet just to help curb the hunger and get more protein in my body. But yeah, HBO is really cool about setting us up with meal plans and making sure that we were fed and taken care of.
Hughes: My wife is very talented in the kitchen. Meeting her really changed the way I thought about food. So, even though I was like 255 pounds when I auditioned, it was a lot of muscle. It wasn’t in an unhealthy way, but I started being a little bit more mindful when I eat. Prior to her, I was just eating anything in front of me.
Episode 5 of Winning Time finds Kareem and Magic getting into an altercation after Magic question’s Kareem’s leadership ability. Can you tell us about the difficulties of filming such an intense scene?
Isaiah: I think just with us being who we are and understanding each other as people, once we got into that scene, I think we had built that trust up to the point that allowed us to go there and really see what’s gonna happen and bring it high, bring it low, or meet it in the middle. It allowed us to tell the story that we needed to tell about these icons and the subtle conflict that was there. But it also shows the brotherhood that was there. You don’t become brothers without having a scuffle.
Hughes: I think when people think difficult, there’s a negative connotation. But there are also amazing things that you do that are difficult that are fun and fulfilling. It was one of the most intense things that I’ve ever done, but it was so much fun. Also, Quincy brought it. I joke with him and say that when I watch that scene, I want to choke Magic now. I want to put my hands up to the screen. It was taxing, but it was just so rewarding. I knew he was putting it all out there, so all I could do back was just put it all out there. It was an incredibly challenging scene, but I think it’s a powerful moment and the arc of the story.
Warrick Page/HBO
We’ve seen a number of issues—from racism of the era to a the series’ cold open flash-forward of Magic’s HIV diagnosis—become part of the Winning Time story. Was filming the series just as heavy emotionally as it was physically?
Isaiah: You do feel there’s a different weight to those kinds of scenes. There’s a uniqueness to them. You want to make sure that you come into those scenes focused a little bit more that day. You want to bring a little more oomph to those. That’s where your actor’s process comes into play. You figure out “How do I go about these things that are more weighty?”
You have to figure out and really try and understand the mind of people that are dealing with, “Hey, you might die soon,” and what that was like. Or the racism aspect.
Hughes: When I read the open, I literally had to set the script down, and just take a moment. I remember that press conference. I remember, as a kid, just feeling so confused. It was just a shift in the way I thought the world was supposed to operate. It’s so brilliant, the way [producers] Max, Rodney, and Adam just thought through that process of portraying that, because it’s such an intimate moment.
The press conference, in and of itself, felt like this collective intimate moment for the globe. I mean, there’s the documentary about it, and you see Paul Bissell, who’s in Spain as a kid, and his life is rocked. They are not playing around and they are bringing the heat. And Quincy is brilliant. I remember being in the trailer the day he was filming this, and I was just praying for him. What an absolute moment.
What are some things you do in real life to practice good mental health?
Isaiah: Having people you can be vulnerable with, that you can talk to about the things that you’re going through, is important. My best friend, who’s also my roommate… I get to talk to him about just about everything. I can cuss, I can cry, and just be me. I love working out; it helps me get out of my head and get into my body. I also have a therapist, and just going to therapy when I need to, helps.
Hughes: I try to surround myself with people who prioritize it. Because I feel like you acclimate to the people that you’re around. When I think about my career as a basketball player, I really struggled with depression and anxiety, but I didn’t know that. There really wasn’t a word for it. Connecting with people and staying in a community with people where you can be really vulnerable about what’s going on, and especially coming out of this Covid era, which has just been brutal on so many people.
I feel like the older I get, I just want to be around authenticity. The other thing I say is, I feel like acting is such a beautiful practice of being present. Quincy talks about playing the moment as literally ignoring a room full of people and cameras, and in some scenes, 500 extras. You have to be so intentional about being cued in.
I walked away from this experience absolutely wanting to be intentional about incorporating that into my life. Just be in the moment, put the cell phone aside, and actively listen to another human being or actively listen to what’s happening around you.
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