Viola Davis Opens Up About Acting Alongside Her Husband In ‘AIR’: “It Felt Like Home”

After her moving performance in last year’s The Woman King, Viola Davis is taking on her next big role that is sure to court awards nominations in AIR – and she has the fortune of having her husband of 20 years Julius Tennon at her side for the on-screen journey.
AIR tells the true story of how Nike courted Michael Jordan into the now-legendary shoe deal that would make the decorated NBA player’s name forever synonymous with street style and sneaker culture.
The key, it turns out, was Jordan’s mother Deloris, who had the foresight to add an unprecedented clause to her son’s contract that would give him ownership over his name and image at a shoe corporation that no other player before him had ever seen.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 01: (L-R) Julius Tennon and Viola Davis attend the 14th Annual AAFCA Awards at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on March 01, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/WireImage)
During an NYC screening of the film on March 20, film stars Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Matt Damon, Matthew Maher, and Star/Director Ben Affleck chatted about the making of the film. Affleck spoke highly working alongside Davis and Tennon, who played Jordan’s parents James and Deloris, and the ease with which they worked together on set.
“When they ran a scene together I was always like, ‘just get into it.’ Because they’re married, it doesn’t matter what kind of day they’re having or what they do, it’s going to be real. You see two people who can talk to each other by doing this,” Affleck said of directing the couple, mimicking a knowing eye contact. “You two are magnificent artists. It was a joy.”
“It felt like home, you know?” Davis said of having Tennon alongside her on set. Recalling an exchange in the film where James Jordan makes his protective presence known to Deloris as she hears out Matt Damon’s character about a potential business deal, Davis says it was reminiscent of Tennon’s own quietly protective nature.
“Julius loves his baseball bat,” she laughed.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 20: Viola Davis is seen in Midtown on March 20, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)
“He’s got that protective nature, like any husband would protect his wife,” Tennon said. “In my mind, I really like this guy. But I still want her to know ‘I got your back, baby.’”
Affleck revealed that Davis was hand-selected by Michael Jordan to play his mother. During a private conversation the director had with Jordan leading up to revamping the film’s script, the 14-time NBA All-Star player revealed how integral his mother was to securing the deal that made his name synonymous with Nike’s most prestige style shoe.
“‘My mama, she just runs sh*t…she made me go [to the meeting with Nike]. I would have done the whole deal for a red Mercedes.’ I said ‘Really? Your whole sneaker rights?’” Affleck revealed of their conversation. “He said she wouldn’t let up, and he would have rather stayed home to play Nintendo.”
Excited to know that this was the direction the movie should go, Affleck says he immediately panicked because he had not previously considered casting anyone in the role of Jordan’s mother.
“I say ‘who should play it?’ Mike says, ‘it’s got to be Viola Davis.’ You want to get the best actor in the world, no problem!” Affleck laughed. “So I thought, ‘okay, it’s got to be good enough for Viola to do.’ So we just worked and worked. And I told her ‘you might not want to do it, but Michael Jordan wants you to do it.’”
Affleck noted a collaborative effort, writing lines and scenes and bouncing them off of Davis to improve and improvise. Even one of the film’s most powerful lines, “a shoe is just a shoe, until my son steps into it,” came directly from Davis. Surprisingly, she says she had little personal connection to Jordan prior to stepping into the role of his mother.
“I met Michael once randomly outside the Park Hyatt hotel, because his wife liked How To Get Away with Murder,” Davis said to crowd laughter.
“Well, you made an impression!” Affleck observed.
AIR opens in theaters everywhere on April 5.