Jason Isaacs is intensely devoted to tennis, and he proved it on 'Second Serve'

Jason Isaacs has perfected his craft for several decades, starring in the Harry Potter films and the critically-acclaimed TV show, White Lotus. Yet before the glitz and glamour of Hollywood stardom, and even before the first theater roles where he truly broke out as a performer, the Liverpool native was devoted to tennis. Isaacs continues to play nearly every day, and is an almanac of tennis knowledge, even keeping up with the results and storylines of the present.

He recently appeared on Tennis Channel 2’s "Second Serve" with Eugenie Bouchard, Mark Knowles and Nick Monroe to discuss his passion for this beautiful game, and why there will always be time for tennis in his relentless schedule.

Isaacs was part of a hyper-competitive family in England that loved to be active. It’s no coincidence that when he discovered tennis, he was hooked instantly.

“I grew up in Liverpool with three brothers. And we were fiercely competitive in every arena, intellectual, physical and everything else. We still are,” Isaacs explained about his upbringing. In tennis he found a sport that he was good at, was time efficient, and could be played wherever his acting career took him.

“I like to play best-of-five. I like to make up in stamina what I lack in talent. And I play singles, because in doubles you really have to have the skill, but in singles you have to just get it back one more time.”

The actor had a lot to say about the current state of pro tennis, which he simply cannot get enough of. Issacs values the purity of the sport, but also the entertainment aspect of it, which is something Carlos Alcaraz fully embodies.

“Alcaraz, some part of him knows he’s in entertainment as well,” the White Lotus star explained. “He enjoys entertaining. He doesn’t go to the stupid end of it and risk losing matches, but he loves having fun, he loves playing the risky shot and entertaining the crowd. And that, you feel it in the arena. You feel the joy and the relish of it.”

There are noticeable similarities and differences between elite tennis players and actors, and Isaacs pulled the curtain back on his own process of achieving excellence. The drive is the same, but Isaac pointed out the biggest area in which the two fields differ.

“It’s not really a competition, acting, because it’s all about the other person,” the accomplished thespian stated. “Acting is about human connection, and I think that’s why I do it. Because I was always very uncomfortable in my own skin. I wasn’t quite sure who to be, or how to be in any situation. But when I was someone else, I felt like I was on this journey, this relentless curiosity working out why other people seem to be alright in their life," Isaacs concluded.

“Be curious, be open, be vulnerable. That’s what I try.”

Once tennis gets a hold of a person, they are usually in a trance for life, and Isaacs is no different. His appearance on "Second Serve" showcased the renowned actor in a completely different light. He discussed meeting Rafael Nadal at the Spaniard'sacademy, he recounted the brilliance of the “Big 3,” and even participated in an interview Marta Kostyuk after she won her match that day at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

Nobody can deny the talent Isaacs has as an actor. But equally, there’s no denying the place that tennis has in his life.