Matt Damon
Sonny Vaccaro
Search results
Apr 5, 2023 · Air is a 2023 drama sport film directed by Ben Affleck and starring Matt Damon, Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck. It tells the story of how Nike signed Michael Jordan in 1984 and changed the world of basketball and sports marketing.
- (169K)
- Drama, Sport
- Ben Affleck
- 2023-04-05
An epilogue reveals the Air Jordan exceeded Knight's expectations of $3 million in sales, earning $162 million in one year and becoming a steady source of income for Nike. Cast. Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro; Ben Affleck as Phil Knight; Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser; Chris Messina as David Falk; Matthew Maher as Peter Moore
Find out who starred in and worked behind the scenes of Air, a biographical sports drama directed by Ben Affleck. See the full cast and crew list, including Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, and more.
- Katherine Schaffstall
- Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro. Damon stars in Air was Vaccaro, a former sports marketing executive who tried to sign Jordan to a deal with Nike by winning over the athlete’s mother.
- Ben Affleck as Phil Knight. Affleck stars in the film as Knight, the co-founder of Nike Inc. who previously served as the chairman and CEO of the company.
- Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan. Deloris Jordan is the athlete’s mother. During the preproduction process, Jordan asked Affleck to cast Davis as his mom. While talking to THR, Davis explained that Deloris “brokered” her son’s “deal to get him a huge stake in the shoe and in turn, protected her son’s legacy.”
- Julius Tennon as James R. Jordan Sr. James R. Jordan Sr. was the NBA star’s father and the husband of Deloris. He died in 1993 when he was shot while taking a nap in his car.
- Matt Damon is Sonny Vaccaro. Affleck's longtime friend and longtime collaborator plays Nike marketing executive and basketball guru Sonny Vaccaro, who convinced Nike to sign Jordan with an unprecedented Air Jordan-birthing deal before his NBA career had even tipped off.
- Viola Davis is Deloris Jordan. Affleck cast the EGOT-winner as Jordan's mother Deloris at the insistence of the basketball superstar himself. "Michael Jordan was very adamant that the only person who was fit to play his mother was the best actor in the world — Viola Davis," Affleck told EW.
- Ben Affleck is Phil Knight. The Air director plays Nike chief Phil Knight, who co-founded the company — originally called Blue Ribbon Sports — in the mid-'60s.
- Chris Tucker is Howard H. White. In his first big-screen appearance since 2016's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, the Rush Hour star plays Howard H. White, Nike's primary liaison with NBA stars including Jordan and Charles Barkley.
Apr 3, 2023 · Learn about the real people and actors who portray them in Air, a sports drama about how Nike created the Air Jordan sneaker with Michael Jordan. See photos and details of Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, and more.
May 2, 2023 · Joining Affleck and Damon in AIR are Jason Bateman ( Ozark, Arrested Development ), Chris Messina ( Gaslit, The Mindy Project ), Viola Davis ( The Woman King, Fences ), Matthew Maher ( Outer Range, Our Flag Means Death ), Marlon Wayans ( The Curse of Bridge Hollow, White Chicks ), Chris Tucker ( Rush Hour, Silver Lining's Playbook ), Gustaf Skar...
