Jeff Heller
Over the past 25 years, Craig Robinson has built a career on effortlessly blending humor, heart, and musical talent. Best known for roles in TV series such as The Office and Mr. Robot, as well as films such as Hot Tub Time Machine and This Is the End, Robinson has carved out a dynamic presence across film, television, and stand-up comedy. Robinson’s latest role has him going toe-to-toe with Tracy Morgan in the hit NBC comedy The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins follows the titular Reggie (Morgan), a disgraced former professional football player whose career was sidelined after a gambling scandal. In an attempt to get his career back on track, Reggie’s ex-wife and business manager (Erika Alexander) hires a filmmaker (Daniel Radcliffe) to make a documentary about Reggie’s life.
Robinson joins the cast of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Jinkins in the recurring role of Jerry Basmati, an old NFL rival of Reggie (Morgan) who is determined to thwart Reggie’s efforts to redeem himself.
We spoke with Robinson about his character, working with the series’ cast, and what resonates with him as a performer.
Well, first I want to say I really enjoyed you in Reggie Jenkins. The series as a whole is good, but your dynamic with Tracy was fantastic.
Thank you.
What can you tell us about Jerry Basmati?
He’s successful. He’s full of himself. He’s very important. He has a beautiful wife. And he likes to control everything in his life.
Were there any inspirations that you’re aware of for Jerry, or did you bring your own inspirations to the character?
I just went with what I saw in him. Michael Strahan was used, I think.
Yeah, that was a little evident to me, too.
They were showing him for what to wear and stuff. So, that kind of got in my head, maybe a little bit, but for the most part, it was, “Okay, what is this character saying? Okay.
Okay. Who is he? All right. All right. Let’s go.”
The cast for the show is very talented. It’s stacked. What can you talk about working with this cast?
Exactly that. They were all great. Everybody got to shine in their own light. I just met everybody on there, including Heidi. I think I ran into Tracy a couple of times. We never really talked and never really hung out, never really worked together. So, he was awesome. He was hysterical, professional. We all just came in, and it was mutual respect, like, “Okay, we’re about to do some comedy.”
Heidi is the best. She’s just the best. We just did Broadway together. She’s super fun and hysterical. She’s a great writer. She has great ideas. So, we would just bounce off each other and then, “Okay, let’s try this,” and then we made it into that episode. I think I was like, hey, what if we skipped away, and we held hands and like skipped over. She had on high heels and in the grass. It was just down to go for stuff like that.
So, were they supportive of you guys just riffing and doing a little improvising?
That’s always pretty much supportive. I mean, you rehearse it, you get the lines down, and then you get some secure scenes, and then you get a chance to run it or throw stuff in after the third or fourth take.
Tracy’s got a bit of a reputation for being a little unpredictable. What’s it like to actually work with him in a scene?
Oh, he was great. It was regular. It wasn’t like he was going off the deep end doing stuff. He was real cool. If he had ideas, he’d just throw them out, and we’d catch them and go with them.
You’re obviously no stranger to the documentary style of filming, but Jerry’s not a fan of it, which I think I thought was funny. Does working in that style impact your performance at all, as far as timing is concerned or camera blocking, or anything like that?
No, it’s all the same. It’s all the same.
Between acting in comedies, acting in dramas, doing stand-up, performing music, hosting shows, performing on Broadway, etc., is there anything that speaks to you most as a performer?
Yes, timing of a joke and the audience coming together to laugh at it, especially a brand-new joke, being able to live in the old jokes and deliver them like they’re new. And then the audience is always a phenomenon because you get this timing, and then you go with them, and then every once in a while, you get the audience that’s just not with it. And it’s amazing, but it makes you perform; it makes you take your time and go, “Okay, let’s see if this one gets them.” It’s the audience, man. It’s the audience. It’s the live audience that gets me.
Now, on a show like this, where you only have the crew as your audience, does that make a difference as far as your performance is concerned? If you don’t have that immediate reaction from an audience, are you able to really kind of calculate, “I’ve got this joke down right,” or is it something you just have to trust yourself?
Definitely, you have to trust yourself and trust the writers and put you into the line. Because some lines aren’t even meant to be funny, but your character brings it, makes it funny. You know what I mean? So, it’s really about what you put into it.
Well, like I said, I really enjoyed your performance on this series. It’s a great show and you’re a great addition to it. So, congratulations.
Thank you very much.
You can watch our full interview with Craig Robinson below.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins airs Monday nights on NBC at 8:30pm, and streams on Peacock the following day.
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