michael jordan

Marlon Wayans is known more for comedies than Oscar-level dramas like his new movie Air, but the White Chicks star says he couldn’t say no when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon came calling about their Nike film.

Wayans plays former U.S. Olympic assistant coach George Raveling in Air, which follows a bunch of Nike execs as they try to sign NBA rookie Michael Jordan to an unheard-of shoe deal in 1984. Raveling is a small but important part of that deal coming together, and so Wayans jumped at the chance to play him opposite Matt Damon on screen.

Matt Damon and Marlon Wayans say Ben Affleck was a "serious" leader on the set of their Nike movie Air, and the actor-director brought a Michael Jordan level of intensity to one scene in particular.

"I knew he was a great director, so that news wasn't surprising to me," Damon told Narcity in a recent interview for the film. He added that directing was a "natural progression" for Affleck, and "when I act opposite him, he gives me notes anyway."

Ben Affleck could be on easy street right now. In another universe, the Oscar winner could be directing and starring in Batman movies while raking in those big superhero bucks at the box office.

Instead, Affleck spent the last few years making Air, an Oscar-calibre film about how Nike bet the company on an NBA rookie named Michael Jordan in 1984. That bet led to the first Air Jordan shoe deal, catapulted Nike to its current success and helped launch the sneakerhead niche that's still thriving today.