Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Mindy Kaling gush about Chris Messina: 'He made me a better actor'

• Chris Messina, one of the stars of the new Nike drama "Air," is beloved by his fellow actors.
• Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who also star in the film, gushed to The New York Times about Messina.

Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Mindy Kaling are all gushing about their fellow actor Chris Messina.

"I always look for work for Chris because he's always so good," Affleck told The New York Times for a profile of the 48-year-old actor.

Affleck's new flick "Air" — which chronicles Nike's rise to industry dominance with the help of Michael Jordan — is the third Affleck-directed film Messina has acted in.

"Every time he's had the opportunity, he's always done more than I envisioned or imagined," Affleck told The Times, adding: "I can't say enough good things about him."

Damon, who stars in and co-produced the film, also spoke highly of Messina, describing him as an actor's actor to The Times.

Messina is the kind of actor "all the other actors always talk about," Damon told The Times. "Did you see him in this? Or, he's in that, that'll be good."

Kaling, who hand-selected Messina to star in her hit show "The Mindy Project," told The Times that he's one of the funniest actors she's ever worked with because he's just "so rooted in the truth of his character that he can't help but be funny."

"It's almost exhausting, the level of honesty and truth he brings to every scene," Kaling told The Times. "He was really listening to my character and reacting if the character did something funny or absurd. He made me a better actor. I was listening better when I was with Chris, because he set the bar so high."