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Daniel Radcliffe stars alongside Tracy Morgan in The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins, a new comedy from Tina Fey
In the series, Radcliffe plays a down-on-his-luck director who decides to film a documentary about a disgraced football player (played by Morgan) in an attempt to rehabilitate his public image
Though it may sound surprising, Radcliffe, 36, tells PEOPLE that he’s a big football fan himself as he describes the funny way he got into the sport
Daniel Radcliffe is not exactly someone you’d expect to be a die-hard football fan, but he’s full of surprises.
The Harry Potter star, 36, joins Tracy Morgan in an all-new NBC comedy, The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins, which sees him play a down-on-his-luck director who decides to film a documentary about disgraced football player Reggie (Morgan) in an attempt to rehabilitate his public image.
Not only is the show Radcliffe in his most comedic role to date — it’s also about a subject that he tells PEOPLE he has a personal interest in. “I did a musical here in 2011, and they started a fantasy football league,” he explains. “They needed someone to make up the numbers, and so I got involved.”
After he made the account, Radcliffe says he “didn’t do anything with my account for four weeks, and then somebody was like, ‘You’re bottom of the league.’ I was like, ‘Okay, well, I’ve got to do something.’ “
He “got into it” from there, “and then [has] never looked back,” he says. “I’m a huge NFL fan.”
If more proof is needed, the Tony-winner admits he’s in not just one but “two fantasy leagues, one of which I run with my girlfriend. We’re all in now.”
Scott Gries/NBC
Radcliffe is also admittedly a big fan of his now-costar, Morgan. “I always say, the thing about Tracy — what he brings as an actor is it is unteachable and unlearnable,” Radcliffe says. “He just has a natural comedy, charisma in his bones. There are line readings he has access to that 99% of actors just cannot say.”
“Every day, he’s going to say five of the craziest things you’ve ever heard, but also be incredibly kind and generous and funny,” Radcliffe continues.
Making The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins —which also stars Erika Alexander, Bobby Moynihan, Precious Way and Jalyn Hall — was a real exercise in joy for Radcliffe.
“The thing we really have in common, that I think all of us do actually, is that we love doing our jobs,” he says of the cast. “We love being on set and getting to work on stuff like this.”
Scott Gries/NBC
That feeling rang particularly true for Morgan, 57, who reunited with 30 Rock‘s Tina Fey and Robert Carlock for the new series. “I think, particularly, Tracy — on this job with Robert and Tina — I think, is very happy to be working with them again,” Radcliffe says.
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That feeling was echoed by Fey, who told Entertainment Weekly that Morgan — whose life changed when he survived a fatal car crash in 2014 that left him critically injured and killed his friend and mentor, Jimmy McNair — is “literally happy to be alive.”
“That energy is contagious. He’s thrilled to be able to work and make comedy, and he loves everyone around him,” she said. “He’s just such a wonderful presence to be around, and I’ve really missed him.”
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins premieres Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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