John C. Reilly praises Winning Time for its diversity: "HBO did an amazing thing the way they built this show"

Deadline

Reilly says Winning Time is really an extension of his character Jerry Buss in its approach to diversity. “If we’re going to be frank, his super power was that he wasn’t racist,” Reilly said on a Deadline Contenders TV panel Sunday. “That was a radical thing to do at the time. The support of the Black community and everyone who spoke at his memorial shows you that I think that was his super power. To really see people, see who they were and what they could contribute and what they were capable of...Whether it’s his 18-year-old daughter (or) women stuck in administrative positions, he empowered them. He could see people. That idea if you can dream it, you can do it, he really lived that. He put everything he had into his dreams.” Reilly added: “Even though this show is about sports and entertainment, we’re trying to entertain you, the issues it deals with in terms of Black and white relations, that was some of the deepest stuff for me. For me, going to a set and being able to work with African-American actors every day, to have the crew represented by people of color, from top to bottom, HBO did an amazing thing the way they built this show. I felt very honored to be part of seeing those people.”

ALSO:

• Jason Segel defends Winning Time: "I am not thrilled when anyone says anything about me in any way," he says with a laugh. "But I totally get it. I think the show is made with a ton of love. And the thing that always gave me confidence when I was playing the weaker sides of Paul Westhead is that I knew by the end of the series, I was bringing Paul to a place where he was hoisting a championship trophy, literally and metaphorically."
• Segel reveals he and Winning Time co-star Solomon Hughes played high school basketball against each other: "I got a couple state championships," he says. "Actually, I weirdly played against Solomon in high school. We were on rival teams. It’s pretty crazy how the world works."
• Quincy Isaiah insists no harm is meant in his Magic Johnson portrayal: "I mean, I understand where they coming from because it's a story about their life," he says. "So, it's tough. But I really feel like we did a really good job of showing humans and showing a full version of who we at least perceive them to be."