10 Secrets That Made Recent Movies Awesome
3. Michael Jordan Personally Selected Viola Davis To Play His Mother - Air
Air may be a corporate biopic about the origin story of a shoe, but it's a surprisingly engaging and entertaining drama by way of its taut script, firm direction, and cracking ensemble cast.
The easy acting MVP is Viola Davis as Michael Jordan's mother Deloris, and while Davis hasn't ever seen a movie she couldn't class-up with her sheer presence alone, there's one very specific reason that she ended up in this role.
Though MJ himself wasn't actively involved in Air's development, he did nevertheless meet with director Ben Affleck, and when Affleck asked him who he wanted to portray his dear mother, he simply replied, "It has to be Viola Davis."
And Jordan evidently got his wish, with Davis not only appearing in the film but stealing every single scene she's in, in turn becoming Air's strongest acting awards prospect as Oscar season kicks off. On working with Davis, Affleck said:
"I always felt that if I was a director one day, and I had Viola Davis in a movie, that would really be something. That would mean the world to me. And I gotta say, it really does."