Affleck, Damon fly high with an assist from Jordan

Matt Damon — the everyman — has a line on what matters in life. “You just bring the best you,” the actor says. “If you do that with every moment, then you’re pretty much doing the right thing.”

Ben Affleck — the movie star/director — has his own theories of what makes life rich. “There will be highs and lows in any life,” he says. “When things are good, I don’t feel like a genius. If I’m disappointed, I never feel like a complete failure.”

The lifelong friends, who won a best screenplay Oscar for 1997’s “Good Will Hunting,” are experiencing one of those major upswings this spring, earning critical raves and early Oscar buzz for “Air,” out this week.

Affleck, who directed the film, stars with Damon, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker and Jason Bateman.

“Air” follows sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) in his quest to sign then-NBA rookie Michael Jordan to Nike, a partnership that would spawn the most iconic sneaker line of all time: the Air Jordan.

Affleck plays billionaire businessman and Nike co-founder Phil Knight, while Davis portrays Jordan’s influential mother, Deloris.

Just do it? Absolutely say the 50-year-old Affleck and the 52-year-old Damon (on separate Zoom interviews) when asked how they live the good life. More of their advice:

Work with your friends

Affleck, one of the producers on “Air,” made sure to hire his friends for the project. “This is a group of people I’ve known for a long, long time,” he says. “I had an enormous amount of respect for all of them and I adore and admire these people.” He even pursued Vegas resident Chris Tucker to play a role. “Chris can attest to how many times I harassed him,” Affleck says of the actor and comedian. “Once I even yelled over a hotel lobby in Vegas, ‘Chris, Chris, Chris, I want to do a movie with you!’ … When you have your friends around you, you’re covered.”

Smash your fears

For Affleck and Damon, getting Jordan’s blessing was one of the first steps in making the movie. “I knew the stupidest thing in the world would be to make a movie that invokes his name and tells a part of his story if he was opposed to it,” Damon says. His director concurs: “If Michael Jordan said don’t do it, I wouldn’t have done this film. … I said, ‘Michael, I don’t want to violate anything that’s not true to you. Tell me what those things are.’ ”

What did Jordan say? “He reminded me that his dad had the best personality in the world,” Affleck shares. “And when he talked about his mother, it was with such reverence, adoration and love. His mother provided an enormous amount of guidance.’ I asked him who should play his mother and he said, ‘It has to be Viola Davis.’ ”

Trust your gut

Why is a story about Nike so inspiring? “We all have dreams, something we want to do,” Damon says. “Everyone says, ‘You can’t do it.’ Just the fact that a man made this Michael Jordan dream come true makes this a very powerful message. Anyone can start with something small — a kernel of an idea — and turn it into something great. A gut feeling in life can take you a long way.”

Remember to laugh

Ask how Affleck is behind the lens and Damon deadpans, “Ben now says directing Viola Davis was the pinnacle of his career. I guess he didn’t feel that way about me.”

Take the pause

Damon, a married father of three, says he often “just pauses to take it all in.” Now matter how busy we get, it’s important to allow yourself that break to reflect. “All of us can take that moment to feel grateful for what we have in life. I’ll think back to the night Ben and I won the Oscar for ‘Good Will Hunting.’ I’m that kid from Boston who now has an Oscar. It feels like I won the lottery with my best friend. That’s never lost on me.”

Remember that feeling

As teenagers, Affleck and Damon had a dream. “We took the train into New York City to audition for roles. We were kids but had this idea that we could do anything,” Damon says. “We had no idea what we were doing, but we had the kind of hope and enthusiasm that just carried us. I always try to remember that feeling.”

Be your own judge

“It’s better to judge your own work before others do,” Affleck advises. “In my line of work, critics might say this and the box office says that. It’s like getting a grade in school. But the way I judge is by just asking myself: ‘Am I proud of my work? Can I walk away feeling good about it? Sometimes that’s the win.’ ”

‘Find the grit’

“Failure is trying. When something is not working, it can be the richest part of the creative process. That’s when you really dig deep and find what’s new and interesting,” Affleck says. “That’s when you build your own character and find interesting ways to solve problems. … I don’t want to be the guy who always runs for the touchdown. I want to learn how to run underneath and find the grit. In the end, I want people to say, ‘This is a guy who really worked hard and applied himself when it was easy, and more importantly, he tried even harder when it was hard.’”

Don’t lose that skip

It could be spending time with his wife and kids or watching a feel-good movie. That positive energy keeps Damon going. “You should look for those things in life that put a little skip in your step,” he says. “We all deserve that little skip.”