Dream teams don’t come much dreamier than the cast ofAir.
Most of Vaccaro’s colleagues think he deserves to be benched for coming up with such a ridiculous idea.
But those three won’t be enough.
(Clockwise from top left) ‘Air’ stars Chris Tucker, Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Ben Affleck, and Jason Bateman.Alex G. Harper for EW
I would argue that’s still the case with college athletics, where athletes are not paid, inexplicably.
So that’s something that’s important to me."
“First time that you’reawareof,” says Damon.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck on the set of ‘Air’.Ana Carballosa/Prime
“I like to think I’ve been directing him my whole life,” Affleck quips.
“We did high school theater together,” adds Damon, good-naturedly.
“He’s been in my ear for fortysomething years.”
‘Air’ star and director Ben Affleck.
We’re going to build this story around this person.'"
“It’s just not my style to react to compliments,” says Davis.
“I wish it were I would have saved a lot of money in therapy.”
‘Air’ star Viola Davis.
“You always imagine men with their face painted and dressed as mascots, screaming.
I was surprised at the heart in the movie.
Because a lot of times, you talk about just winning.
‘Air’ star Matt Damon.
That’s what I see when I watch sports.
I’m like, oh, they talk about winning.
‘We just won a game, man!'”
Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan in ‘Air’.ANA CARBALLOSA/Prime
“I always go, ‘Viola, you could’t do that!'”
“I don’t do that,” Davis quickly interjects.
“We cry when we lose games!
Ben Affleck as Phil Knight in ‘Air’.
That’s what we do!”
says Tennon, once again prompting laughter around the table.
“As athletes!”
Chris Messina as David Falk in ‘Air’.
“Oh my God, Julius!”
Davis responds, bringing it back to her original point.
“No, but I love the heart in the movie.”
Viola Davis and Julius Tennon as Deloris and James Jordan in ‘Air’.
It makes you want to lean in even closer, andthatis as good as acting gets."
“That’s masterful acting,” adds Damon.
“That’s what Brando did, right?
‘Air’ star Julius Tennon.
It’s not doing nothing, it’s the opposite of doing nothing.
“You put the mask on.
Messina’s character, however, is anything but stoic a shrewd agent whose work is his life.
‘Air’ star Chris Messina.
“This is the A-team in front of the camera and behind the camera.
It was kind of like a family affair.
It felt like you were just hanging out with friends, having fun, making a movie.”
‘Air’ star Chris Tucker.
That sense of fraternity, and conviviality, lives on during the cast’s EW sitdown.
“You got something off ofhim?”
theOzarkstar asks Tennon of theMindy Projectactor.
Chris Tucker as Howard W. White in ‘Air’.
“A little bit,” deadpans Messina, replying to Bateman.
“I didn’t really giveyoumuch.”
“It was like kismet to me,” Tucker says of taking on the role.
Matthew Maher, Matt Damon, and Jason Bateman as Peter Moore, Sonny Vaccaro, and Rob Strasser in ‘Air’.
That guy like Confucius!’
And Ben was like, ‘Come on.’
So it was great.
Marlon Wayans as George Raveling in ‘Air’.
I was real comfortable around these guys.”
“So you might really go in and channel what you’re trying to say, thefillingof the scene.
I was like, okay!
‘Air’ star Marlon Wayans.
Matt got on the phone and it was like we had a real conversation.”
“You brought out this feeling of humanity and love that was so vulnerable.
It moved me to tears when I saw it.
‘Air’ stars Julius Tennon and Viola Davis.
[When Matt] came in, he saw me, he was like, ‘What?
What is it?’
I was like, ‘I wasn’t really watching you Chris was amazing!'”
“He was like, ‘Chris is goingoff!”
adds Damon, pretending he was disappointed at being outshone in the scene.
“And I was like, ‘Oh, great.
“I mean, it’s hard.
I rarely stick to my own lines,” says the actor.
So it felt good that that was welcome.”
“People talk around solving the problem because they don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.
‘I’m wondering if you might be a little…'”
“Quicker!”
barks Affleck, impersonating his direction of Damon.
“He’s just like, ‘That was terrible, man!
And you’ve got to say itfaster!'”
“We do that when we write, too.
That, to me, is the most important thing when you embark on a collaborative process with somebody.
But you have to feel free to express it.”
Alas, there is no more time for theAircrew to express themselves further.
Although Bateman seems to be under the impression that this has all just been practice for the real deal.
“Great rehearsal, guys,” he declares.
“We’re going to have lunch and then we’ll shoot!”
Watch the Air cast’s full Around the Table video below:
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