'She fought for son's worth': 'Air' actress Viola Davis opens up about playing Michael Jordan's mother
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Air' is written by Alex Convery and it tells the real-life story of basketball legend Michael Jordan's epic deal with Nike in the year 1984. During a recent conversation, 'The Woman King' actress Viola Davis, who plays Deloris, the mother of the basketball champion in the upcoming movie, opens up about her role in the film. 'Air' sees Ben Affleck back in the director's chair, after 'Argo' and 'Live by Night'.
'Air' stars Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan, Damian Delano Young as Michael Jordan, Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser, Ben Affleck as Phil Knight, Chris Messina as David Falk, Julius Tennon as James Jordan, Chris Tucker as Howard White, Matthew Maher as Peter Moore, Gustaf Skarsgård as Horst Dassler, Barbara Sukowa as Kathy Dassler, Jay Mohr as John Fisher, Joel Gretsch as John O'Neil, Michael O'Neill as Joe Dean and Marlon Wayans as George Raveling.
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The significance of being 'the mother'
In her recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Viola Davis opened up about her upcoming role in the sports drama. Davis begins by saying the important role a mother would play in anyone's life. She further added by saying how she was very much moved to get the opportunity to play the role of Michael Jordan's mother in the movie by adding, "Mothers are the most important figures in anybody’s life, so I was very flattered and deeply moved to be asked to play Michael’s mother".
Davis further reflected on the fact that she wasn't aware (till she read the script) of the role Deloris had played in making the iconic deal possible. Davis has nothing but praise for Deloras. In fact, Deloris' persistence, courage and strength to stand her ground in order to fight for her son's worth and legacy has been one of the major reasons that inspired Davis to accept the role.
“I know Michael Jordan but didn’t know that Deloris brokered this deal to get him a huge stake in the shoe and in turn, protected her son’s legacy. I wanted to know more about this woman who had the strength and courage to fight for her son’s worth. For Deloris to have this insight and progressive vision, to stand her ground in the negotiation room — which I know can be the hardest part of the job — makes her an incredible woman. That made me lean into this project."
Iconic legacy
'Air' tells the story of the birth of one of the most iconic cultural phenomena of all time. The plot of the movie explores how Sonny Vaccaro, the shoe salesman had helped set up the deal between Nike and Jordan, making it a reality.
Viola Davis is said to be in the most pivotal scenes of the film as Michael's mom. It is no secret that the sneakers line 'Air Jordan' has reached the heights of popularity among buyers and has attained legacy status as one of the most reputed lines in the Sneakers world.
It is to be noted that the one request that Michael Jordan made for this movie was for Viola Davis to play as his mother. In an earlier version of the script, Deloris had minimal screen time. It was Jordan's request, combined with Ben's wife Jennifer Lopez's input that springboarded the script changes that added heft and weightage to her character.
'Air' is set to release exclusively in theatres from April 5, 2023.