Matt Damon likens Viola Davis to Marlon Brando because of “masterful acting”
Oscar-winning actor, producer and screenwriter Matt Damon has compared Viola Davis to Marlon Brando after acting alongside her on the set of Air. The accomplished actors are set to star in Ben Affleck’s new direction, in which Davis stars as Basketball player Michael Jordan’s mother.
“It’s easy to [act] opaque — ‘I’m not going to show you anything,'” Affleck told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s extremely difficult to be opaque and have the sense that there’s an enormous amount of feeling inside, you just don’t know what it is. It makes you want to lean in even closer, and that is as good as acting gets.”
“That’s masterful acting,” Damon added. “That’s what Brando did, right? It’s not doing nothing; it’s the opposite of doing nothing. You present it as if you’re doing nothing, but everything in the world is happening right underneath, and it’s awesome.”
Air stars Davis as Deloris Jordan and details her basketball legend son’s hugely successful partnership with sportswear giant Nike. Discussing her keenness for the role, Davis told The Hollywood Reporter: “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 added: “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.”
Affleck admitted that in his initial script, the role of Deloris was rather small. However, after meeting the world-famous basketball player, Affleck realised how crucial Deloris was in securing her son’s deal with Nike. Michael Jordan reportedly requested that Davis be cast as his mother.
“He actually talked about his mom, who wasn’t really in the script,” Affleck told The Hollywood Reporter. “That’s when I understood what the movie was. Talking to him about his mom was incredibly moving, and I went: ‘Oh, this isn’t about Nike’.
“I said: ‘So, do you have any ideas about who would …?’… I knew who he was going to say because it was the same person that I’ve wanted to direct for so long … I’m thinking: ‘Oh my God, he wants me to offer this to Viola Davis. How am I going to offer Viola Davis a movie with one line? That’s not going to happen.’ “But he was like: ‘That’s my mom’. He was dead serious. ‘Viola Davis, that’s my mom.’ And that was it. Discussion was over.”
Watch the Air trailer below.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.