With AIR being centered around Nike's pursuit of signing Michael Jordan to an endorsement deal and creating the iconic Air Jordan brand, you'd think that playing Michael Jordan would be a big breakout for a young actor. However, when you finish watching AIR you may be surprised that you don’t remember who plays Michael Jordan in the AIR cast.
But Michael Jordan is in the movie, or at least his figure is. We never see Jordan's face, but he is present at the meetings with Converse, Adidas and, most critically, Nike. So who is playing the NBA-bound rookie that is about to change the world on the basketball court?
Who plays Michael Jordan in AIR?
The actor playing Michael Jordan in Air is Damian Young. Young has only two other credits listed on his IMDb page, 2022 TV movie called Strictly for the Streets vol. 2 and a short movie called Prom Night Flex. However, millions of people have seen Young on screen, but likely didn't realize it.
Young appeared in Budweiser's commercial for Super Bowl LVII in 2023. He is featured prominently in the commercial as the guy in a long white-sleeve shirt playing basketball. Check out the commercial right here:
Why isn't Michael Jordan shown in AIR?
Now, you may be wondering why a movie that centers so much around Michael Jordan does not feature the basketball great as a central character? That's by design, according to director Ben Affleck.
In a post-screening Q&A at the movie's premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival, Affleck said that he never planned on having Jordan be a main character in the story:
"I did not ever plan on it, because I never thought for a second — hey, Michael is so magnificent, so famous, the whole reason why he represents and means what he does in terms of greatness and excellence, is because he's so, so enigmatic and majestic and identifiable immediately, by his carriage and demeanor and what we’ve seen him do physically… The one sure way to ruin the movie and have the audience understand that the whole thing is a fraud is to point the camera at anybody that's not Michael Jordan and say, 'Hey, that's Michael Jordan!'"
Affleck added, “the only person who could play Michael Jordan, as I've said to him, is too old now to play Michael Jordan."
Jordan was involved in AIR, however. Affleck revealed that he sat down with Jordan to get his blessing on the movie, and Jordan added some key details to the story, like the inclusion of Howard White (played by Chris Tucker).
Jordan also had one demand. When asked by Affleck who he would like to play his mother, Jordan said, "Well, it has to be Violas Davis." The NBA legend got his way on both accounts, as the Oscar-winning actress stars as his mother, Deloris Jordan.
AIR is now playing. Read What to Watch's AIR review to find out why you won't want to miss the movie.
