Interview: Adrien Brody Returns to Talk About Playing Pat Riley in ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty’

Adrien Brody is an Academy Award-winning actor. That can be intimidating for fellow cast members on a show, as well as put added pressure on a performance. So, the fact that Brody can put folks at ease and slide into all sorts of roles just shows what a talent he is. In Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, the performer is doing some of his best work as basketball legend Pat Riley. I previously spoke to Brody here about Asteroid City last year, while two years ago I had a chat here with Winning Time creator Max Borenstein. Today, Brody returns to talk with me about the show.

Below, you can hear my conversation with Brody. We talk about the show in several different ways, including collaborating with co-star Jason Segel (a prior interview subject here and here), who plays Paul Westhead. There’s also discussion about Brody’s experiences in general, as well as what he did and did not ultimately get to do with Riley as a character. Brody is incredibly smart and interesting to chat with, so it’s a really fascinating back and forth, if I do say so myself. While we won’t get a third season of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, the two we got really we’re good, with Brody’s Riley really starting to come into his own here in season two. If you haven’t seen it yet, the HBO series is quite fun and you can catch it on Max right now…

Here now is my interview with Oscar winner and Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty cast member Adrien Brody. Enjoy:

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is available to watch in its entirety on HBO and Max!