Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty, Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty
Ben Affleck’s new movieAircovershow footwear company Nikefirst signedMichael Jordan, but the director chose not to show the famous character’s face onscreen.
“Jordan is too big,” Affleck, 50, toldThe Hollywood Reporterin a recent interview of the decision to not show Jordan’s face in the film, which has actor Damian Delano Young play the role.
“He exists above and around the story, but if you ever concretize him, if you ever say, ‘Yes, that’s Michael Jordan,’ we know it’s not, really. It’s fake,” the actor-director, who plays Nike, Inc. cofounder Philip Knight in the movie, said of Jordan, now 60.
“I thought if the audience brought everything they thought and remembered about him and what he meant to them to the movie and projected it onto the movie, it worked better,” Affleck added.
Affleck toldTHRhe sought out the real-life Jordan’s thoughts before he embarked on the project, which costarsMatt Damonand is the first film from the pair’snew production company Artists Equity.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Affleck told the outlet he met with Jordan to ask for advice for who should play his motherDeloris JordaninAir, revealing that it was Jordan’s idea to castViola Davis.
“‘That’s my mom.’ He was dead serious,” Affleck said, as he recalled Jordan’s request forEGOT winner Davis, 57, to take the part. “‘Viola Davis, that’s my mom.’ And that was it. Discussion was over. However it happened, it wasn’t his problem, but it was going to f—ing happen. And I was like, ‘Okay, Mike.’ "
Shortly after Affleck’sTHRinterview published, Davis told PEOPLE at the film’s premiere duringSXSWin Austin that she was “flattered” tolearn Jordan had asked for her to play his mother.
Courtesy of Prime Video
“I’m just hearing about it now,” Davis said as she walked the red carpet with husband and costarJulius Tennon, who playsthe NBA star’s dad James. “It blew my mind. I’m glad I didn’t know about it before.”
Aside from Affleck, Damon and Davis, the movie also stars Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker and Gustaf Skarsgård.Airis in theaters Wednesday.
source: people.com
