The veteran actor says that during one of the NBA’s “wicked getaways to the Bahamas,” he told the basketball legend that he wanted to portray him in a film.
“In my head, playing Jordan wouldn’t be about playing the basketball player; it was about the businessman,” said Elba during an appearance on the “Sneaker Shopping” podcast.
Elba says that he flat out told the North Carolina native: “I want to play you,” but wasn’t met with the response that he had hoped for.
For him, it was more about portraying Jordan in his years beyond being a budding basketball star. Elba found himself intrigued with the retired NBA player’s life past his prime and wanted to focus more on his work as an entrepreneur and philanthropist.
“He is a very astute businessman, really smart. And his work as a philanthropist is, like, unspoken, but people don’t understand the work. He cares; he does a lot of work. So that’s where I was hinting at. I wanna play Jordan — I’m doing that,” the “No Good Deed” actor continued. “He was like, ‘Ah, I’m not ready for that story yet.’”
After 2020’s Emmy Award-winning ESPA documentary, “The Last Chance,” one may say that the time to share a career trajectory of Jordan is overdue.
As one of the greatest players in NBA history, Jordan has also been dubbed one of the best athletes in the nation. He played a total of 15 seasons for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards and won 5 MVP Awards, was selected to play in 14 All-Star Games and joined the NBA Hall of Fame in 2009.
Off the court, his Air Jordan tennis shoes are responsible for the sneaker culture that the world knows and loves today.
Source: Revolt
