Minor spoilers for The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’ premiere are ahead. Read with caution, and watch the show on NBC or with a Peacock subscription.
In The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, NBC’s newest comedy on the 2026 TV schedule, Daniel Radcliffe plays a documentarian named Arthur who is tasked with filming the life of Tracy Morgan’s titular character. However, it’s quickly revealed that he has a complex past like the guy he’s documenting, and we get to learn about it through hilarious BTS footage of a fake Marvel movie. It turns out that action-packed sequence starring the Harry Potter actor was executive producer Tina Fey’s idea, and thank goodness the actor had some stunt training to pull it off.
In the pilot of Reggie Dinkins, it’s revealed that Arthur got an offer to direct a Marvel movie after winning an Oscar. However, “he couldn’t handle the pressure” of the superhero flick, he freaked out, and he “tanked the whole project.” Tragically for Arutur, and thankfully for us, there’s footage of his meltdown. And it involved Daniel Radcliffe’s character absolutely losing it while a guy hung in the air surrounded by tennis balls. According to co-creators Sam Means and Robert Carlock, this hilarious moment all happened because of Tina Fey, too, as they explained:
- Sam Means: Speaking of Tina's role in this show, we actually filmed a totally different version of that originally.
- Robert Carlock: It was really just the meltdown. It was just the kind of the breakdown.
- Sam Means: And it was great, because Daniel's great, and he totally committed, and it was all good. But it just wasn't as fun, you know?
Fey was determined to make it more fun, and that’s what led to moments like Radcliffe whacking the tennis balls aggressively with a racquet and then hilariously falling off the stage. That is one of the reasons why Radcliffe’s stunt training came in handy. Speaking to all of that, Carlock told me:
Tina was like, ‘We need a comic hook to this thing.’ And she pitched the tennis balls, and we went back and re-shot it. So it took twice as long as it should have, but not that long. Daniel was so good physically. He has some training and some practice doing stunts. And yeah, it really elevated that. I love that moment now.
Well, Radcliffe’s Harry Potter stunt work certainly came in handy here, seeing as when he worked on the Wizarding World films, he fell off a roof, and in this show, he had to fall off a platform.
While I’m sure his days on Reggie Dinkins weren’t nearly as “intense” and “crazy” as Harry Potter in the action department, the moment on this fake movie set is quite action-packed. So, I’m sure everyone involved with this scene was happy he had the training in his back pocket.
I’m also happy Tina Fey came up with this idea for the show that’s set in the 30 Rock universe, because the moment is so funny. It gives us insight into Arthur’s past in an extra and unexpected way, and it gives Radcliffe a chance to show off some of his other skills as a performer. In fact, this all worked out so well that it will come up again in the show, as Carlock explained:
We've been mining the outtakes. At one point, Riley, the tape that was supposed to be kept under wraps, does leak and goes viral. So you know, there's like a meme of him crying [that] goes viral, and so we got to go back to both versions that we shot and find the most unflattering moments.
Well, get ready for that, folks, because I’m sure it’s going to be just as funny as that first scene we got to see of Arthur’s Marvel movie meltdown. And it’ll be exciting to see the other version of this breakdown that was filmed before Fey came in with her pitch.
Now, to see Daniel Radcliffe in action, literally, you can catch The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins on NBC every Monday at 8 p.m. ET, and you can stream it the next day on Peacock.
