Chris Messina is a movie veteran of Ben Affleck, but when it came time to shoot this year Airhe also got to work with Affleck and his longtime friend Matt Damon!
Messina, 49, first worked with Affleck, 51, on the 2012 Oscar-winning film. Argot not long after he and the actor/director tied the knot at a mutual friend’s wedding. Messina later took on the role in Affleck’s 2016 effort Living at night and reconnected with Affleck for Air to play David Falk, the sports agent who famously represented Michael Jordan and helped negotiate the athlete’s sneaker deal with Nike.
For Messina, shooting the film was a career highlight in working with Affleck and Damon at the same time. (Damon plays sports director Sonny Vaccaro in the film.)
“I was trying to keep my composure because I became closer with Ben and along the way I spent some time with Matt, but I don’t remember if I was ever with them together,” Messina tells PEOPLE. “So in rehearsals I kept my cool — or at least I tried to keep my cool, but inside I was like, ‘These are the guys who made Good Will Hunting and now I’m in rehearsal, just me and the two of them and we’re talking about the script.’ ”
“It was really exciting and a little nerve-wracking, but they’re so cool, as you can imagine,” he adds.
Ben Affleck and Michael B. Jordan discuss their ‘big brother-little brother’ friendship together
Chris Messina in ‘Air’.
Ana Carballosa / Amazon Studios / Courtesy of Everett
Messina continues, “It was really inspiring to see how there were no egos. They were making this movie — they loved the movie, they loved the process, they loved each other and they were just out there trying to make the best movie they could. So if Ben had an idea or Matt had an idea, there was no ego. Only the best idea wins and they seem to really enjoy being together, making the film.”
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Ben Affleck in ‘Air’. COURTESY AMAZON STUDIOS Cast Good Will Hunting: Then and today
This week only, Air it picked up two nominations for the Golden Globe Awards and three nominations for the Critics Choice Awards. Messina, otherwise known for his work in The Mindy Project and Sharp objectssays she’ll always jump to work with Affleck, who she says has “the highest film IQ of anyone I’ve ever met.”
“He wants you to fly and it’s really fun to be on set. When he calls, I didn’t have to read the script,” Messina says of Affleck. “I’m just saying, yes, of course. When do you want me there?”
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Source: HIS Education