Who Plays Michael Jordan in 'AIR'? Director Ben Affleck Explains Why His Face is Never Shown

The new movie AIR is all about Nike signing Michael Jordan as a new spokesperson, but you never actually see his face in the film.

Real-life couple Viola Davis and Julius Tennon play the basketball superstar’s parents and his mom does all the negotiating for his contract.

Ben Affleck, who directed the movie, made the conscious decision to not show Jordan‘s face and to focus on the player’s parents. Whenever MJ is actually in a scene, the audience only sees his back.

So, why did he do that? And who plays the role?

Keep reading to find out more…

Michael Jordan is played by Damian Delano Young. This is his first major film after starring in the 2022 short film Prom Night Flex and the 2022 indie movie Strictly for the Streets vol. 2.

Ben recently explained why the audience never sees his face in the movie.

“Jordan is too big,” he told THR. “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. 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.”

Ben got Michael‘s permission to make the movie and the athlete was the one who picked Viola to play his mom. Here are the other demands he had for the movie!