Ben Affleck he says he would never do it “Air” without Michael Jordan’s consent, but that consent came with one important request. The request was for Viola Davis to star in the film.

Directed by Affleck, the film stars Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the Nike employee who convinced Jordan to sign the deal that allowed for the creation of the Air Jordan shoe line. Affleck also stars as Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

Introducing ‘Air’ at the world premiere of South by Southwest, Affleck said: “I had the opportunity to sit down with Michael Jordan, because I just wasn’t going to do this movie without asking him, ‘What’s important to you?’ And honestly, it had some things that had weight.”

“One of them was that Howard White had to be in the movie,” Affleck said, referring to company vice president Jordan.

“I got the script and then I had the chance to talk to Michael again. Michael Jordan, for those of you who don’t know him, is one of the most imposing, impressive men you will ever see in your life,” Affleck said. “He told me he is a father. And then he talked about his mother. It was the first time I had seen that look cross his face. It was a look of reverence and awe and love and gratitude and innocence. He said, “None of this would have ever happened without my mother.” I said, “Who would you like to play your mom?” He said, ‘Well, it has to be Viola Davis.'”

“That’s like saying, ‘Can I play basketball on your court?’ “Yes, if you take Michael Jordan.” “Viola Davis is the best actress I’ve ever seen,” Affleck continued. “This is a tough business. It’s hard to know if you’re successful. It’s hard to know if you’ve accomplished anything. But I honestly always felt that if I directed a movie and had Viola Davis with me, then I’d know I’d achieved something.”