Who Plays Michael Jordan In Air?

We're just reaching the midway point of 2023. And as blockbuster summer bombast settles in at the multiplex, some might have you believe the streaming realm has already delivered one of the year's first awards season players. That film is, of course, Ben Affleck's Amazon hit, "Air." The film tells the real-life story of how Nike courted and signed NBA legend Michael Jordan to be the face of their basketball shoe branch before he ever set foot on a pro court.

"Air" is helmed by Ben Affleck, and finds him directing for the first time his longtime friend, and co-writer, Matt Damon. It also finds Viola Davis delivering one of the fiercest performances of her lauded career as Jordan's business-savvy mother, Deloris Jordan, with Julius Tennon proving equally effective as the basketball star's father, James Jordan. As for the soon-to-be NBA superstar, viewers don't actually get a look at the teen-aged Michael Jordan's face at any point in "Air," despite an actor clearly being brought in to play the part.

That actor's name is Damian Delano Young. He actually does look a little like a young Jordan in real life. And though you don't see his face in "Air," the film is far and away the biggest project he's been involved with to date.

Although "Air" viewers go without seeing Michael Jordan in the film, this was a creative decision made by director Ben Affleck. As covered by The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker admitted as much during the film's South By Southwest Film Festival premiere, telling audience members, "There is no way I was ever going to ask an audience to believe that anybody other than Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan." He went on to joke, "I thought he was too majestic to have anyone impersonate him, and as I told him [Jordan], 'You're too old to play the part.'"

Though he has little to do other than walk around and keep his face hidden from the camera, "Air" should still prove a pretty big break for Damian Delano Young, who'd logged only two screen credits prior to getting the call from Ben Affleck. Young played a background high schooler in the Netflix documentary short, "Prom Night Flex," and made an appearance in the micro-budget drama, "Strictly for the Streets Vol. 2."

Despite his short filmography, it's likely you're still familiar with Young's face. The rising star is, after all, currently fronting a national ad campaign for Budweiser. Young plays a basketballer who spreads a little love by helping distribute a few cold ones in the brewer's "Six Degrees of Budweiser" ad which is, fittingly, narrated by Mr. Six Degrees himself, Kevin Bacon.