NBA icon Michael Jordan put as much dedication into his short-lived acting career as he did in basketball. A year before he won his first championship and six years before Space Jam, he starred in the 1990 movie, Playground. Now internet archivists have dug up a reel from the making of the movie that shows a whole other side of the 6x NBA champion. It shows a rare glimpse of His Airness busting a move for cinematic purposes.

Any good player is as good as their coach, and it’s true for actors too. Jordan had to rely on the movie’s director. Playground would be the stepping stone for the filmmaker’s career. Years after teaching Jordan, he’d go on to direct Ben Affleck, one of the creators behind Air.

When Michael Jordan needed $60 million worth Director

Before his DCEU career, Zack Snyder made an underrated short film, Playground, in 1990. The direct-to-video 40-minute feature included a cast of athletes led by then-Chicago Bulls star, Michael Jordan. It was Snyder’s directorial debut following pre-championship Jordan’s mentoring youth and being a general role model.

A fresh-faced Snyder would recall Jordan was a natural in front of the camera. In fact, Jordan was so committed to making Zack’s vision come to life, that he did a little jig for the movie. The clip of His Airness practicing the dance has surfaced, eliciting reactions from fans.

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In the movie, he performs with the hip-hop group, Full Force. Learning to dance with them didn’t come naturally. Good thing Snyder was there to walk his lead actor through it.

“When Full Force came to do the songs for the video, and they wanted me to act to the theme song of the video. And I love the theme song, I think it’s going to be hit,” was Jordan’s voiceover to the rehearsal clip. Snyder is seen coaching Michael and the dancers briefly while another dancer is trying to give Jordan tips.

In the movie, Jordan celebrates his young mentee making it on the basketball team by breaking into dance. With Full Force singing in the background, Jordan’s awkward moves become the greatest highlight of this film. It’s criminal how this movie doesn’t get talked about as much as The Last Dance for this scene alone.

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The hip-hop duo, Kid ‘n Play, shared the scene with Jordan. They cruelly out-danced him, which made this scene even more incredible. Snyder’s coaching was apparently not enough. He’d nonetheless enjoy an acclaimed directing career.

Michael Jordan’s acting career

Zack Snyder would be credited for the new Man of Steel movies and would also direct Ben Affleck as Batman. Affleck and Matt Damon would work closely with Jordan to write the script for Air, the 2023 biopic on the origin of the Air Jordans. While this movie, cast, and director were acclaimed, a niche of NBA fans thinks Playground was the best MJ biopic ever.

It depicts a teen who runs into Michael Jordan at his local playground. Jordan trains him till he makes it to the high school basketball team, a little personal for Jordan, who also struggled as a high school basketball player.

But his claim to fame in showbiz came with Space Jam in 1996. He’d share the screen with Bugs Bunny and impress with his humor better than his lack of dance skills.

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