- Born
- Birth nameMahershalalhashbaz Gilmore
- Nickname
- Ali
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Mahershala Ali is fast becoming one of the freshest and most in-demand faces in Hollywood with his extraordinarily diverse skill set and wide-ranging background in film, television, and theater.
He can be seen in the independent feature film, Moonlight, as well as reprising his role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, Gary Ross's civil war era drama The Free State of Jones, and Netflix's award-winning series House of Cards as well as Marvel's Luke Cage.
Ali's previous feature film credits include Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines, Wayne Kramer's Crossing Over, John Sayles' Go For Sisters, and David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Again on television, he appeared opposite Julia Ormond in Lifetime's The Wronged Man for which he subsequently received an NAACP Nomination for Best Actor. Ali also had a recurring role on Syfy's Alphas, as well as the role of Richard Tyler, a Korean War pilot, on the critically acclaimed drama The 4400 for three seasons.
On the stage, Ali appeared in productions of Blues for an Alabama Sky, The School for Scandal, A Lie of the Mind, A Doll's House, Monkey in the Middle, The Merchant of Venice, The New Place and Secret Injury, Secret Revenge. His additional stage credits include appearing in Washington, D.C. at the Arena Stage in the title role of The Great White Hope, and in The Long Walk and Jack and Jill. In February 2016, Ali made his New York Broadway debut in Kenny Leon's Smart People.
Born in Oakland, California and raised in Hayward, Ali received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications at St. Mary's College. He made his professional debut performing with the California Shakespeare Festival in Orinda, California. Soon after, he earned his Master's degree in acting from New York University's prestigious graduate program.- IMDb Mini Biography By: KT
- SpouseAmatus Karim Ali(June 27, 2013 - present) (1 child)
- ChildrenBari Najma Ali
- ParentsWillicia Gilmore (Goines)Phillip F. Gilmore
- Deep smooth voice
- Received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Drama from the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University (2000).
- The name "Mahershalalhashbaz" is from the Book of Isaiah (chapter 8, verse 3) in the Hebrew Bible. It is the longest proper name (ordered by God to be given to the newborn prophet's son) that appears in the Bible and is, actually, a combination of four words: "Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz", meaning "Hurry to the spoils!" or "He has made haste to the plunder!".
- With his Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actor for the drama film Green Book (2018), Mahershala Ali becomes the first black actor (male or female) to win twice in the supporting category. He is also the second black person (male or female) to win two competitive Oscars for acting--the first being Denzel Washington who won in both the lead and supporting categories.
- His Oscar win for the drama film Moonlight (2016) marked the first time a Muslim actor has won an Academy Award.
- Is a respected rapper in the hip hop community, having collaborated and performed with notable artists such as Talib Kweli, Planet Asia, Keith Murray, and others.
- 'Mahershala' is my nickname.
- At that moment in time when we feel like the other, we were not the person embraced, not one of the cool kids, not in the club - when you're that person, it makes you feel smaller, and when they persecute you as a result, that's a difficult position to be in.
- Who is that person that comes around and says 'You are okay, you are worthy, you are special?' That makes all the difference in the world for many of us. Those are the people we appreciate the most.
- I have had that same experience where there are several people who have come up in my life at the right time and have made critical contributions to how I see the world and how I see myself.
- Your life, your circumstances change, and you have to continue to grow as a person, and once you have means and opportunity, you have to make different choices to protect what you have.
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