Having Ended 6.5 Years Hiatus With Michael Jordan Inspired Film, Chris Tucker Defined Crucial Nike Executive With 5-Word Revelation

Fans of Michael Jordan were over the moon as soon as Air hit the movie screens around the country in April. Along with two-time Academy Award winner Ben Affleck, who also directed the movie, Air had a series of big stars cast in the film. But Rush Hour fame Chris Tucker, who was brought into the film later on, had a certain motivation to not disappoint Michael Jordan.

Chris Tucker had seemingly disappeared from the Hollywood industry for quite some time. The last time fans got to see Tucker was in a 2016 movie, Long Halftime Walk. So, ending his long hiatus, Tucker opened up on the significant role of the Nike executive he played in the movie.

What did Chris Tucker say about this Nike executive?

The movie Air was about how Nike landed a young Chicago Bulls player, Michael Jordan, and how it went on to change the course of history. When Affleck brought the idea of the movie to MJ, one of the requests His Airness had for Affleck was that Howard White had to be in the movie. And this seemed like a non-negotiable request from the six-time NBA champion.

Ben Affleck went on to cast Chris Tucker in the role of Howard White. So, when talking about his role in the movie, Tucker told Andscape, ?Howard doesn?t carry himself like it, but he really is the Godfather of the Jordan Brand.?

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Tucker also went on to add, ?I didn?t want to let him down.? And he certainly did not as he came back from his long break with a splendid performance in the movie.?

Howard White’s role in courting Michael Jordan

One of the reasons why MJ asked Affleck to include Howard White in the movie was because of White?s influence on Jordan?s life as a player and as a person. Also, White could be single-handedly credited for courting Jordan to Nike when his choice of shoe brand was Adidas back then.

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White did was he does best and got MJ to sign with Nike and the rest is history. Jordan did make another request that director Ben Affleck had to abide by. MJ asked Affleck to cast Viola Davis for the role of his mother, Deloris Jordan, in the movie. And by the end of it, Viola Davis was also cast in the film.

What are your thoughts on Tucker’s “Godfather” revelation? Let us know in the comments.