When you have these surprise breakout films that do well, that have good performances in them, it puts a lot of pressure on the Academy to recognize those projects, so it’s more of a conversation about what is greenlit. – Mahershala Ali
‘Free State of Jones’ went beyond that. It got into how the South wasn’t as homogenous as we thought it was – or even the North for that matter, where we like to assume everyone wanted to free the slaves and they were all abolitionists. It actually shows how complex these ideologies were on both sides. – Mahershala Ali
I’m not shy about trying to find what truth there is in any genre, whether that be an action piece, a sci-fi piece, a small indie film, or a play. I’m open to it all. – Mahershala Ali
I love hip hop. It’s such an appendage for me. It’s something that’s always shaped my experience out in the world. – Mahershala Ali
There’s nothing fun about 30 people standing around watching you, like, pretend to pleasure someone. Nothing enjoyable about it, believe me. – Mahershala Ali
Come on, we would be foolish to say that there’s never been African-American leads in some capacity, people of color in some capacity, leading shows or what have you. But it hasn’t happened enough and in a manner that is an accurate reflection of the world that we live in. – Mahershala Ali
I’m excited about ‘Luke Cage’ with Michael Colter, who plays Luke Cage. I play the villain, Cottonmouth. It takes place in Harlem. It’ll just be amazing for people to get to see an African-American superhero, which there weren’t any when I was growing up. – Mahershala Ali
I’d never been around or seen a black showrunner, and in some ways you wish that it wasn’t a big deal. – Mahershala Ali
The more you work and get known for something, sometimes things begin to narrow a bit, and your opportunities get more… specific. – Mahershala Ali
I converted Dec. 31, 1999. It was a Friday. That was my second time going to the mosque. The woman who is my wife now… was basically raised Muslim – and she was at that point where she was deciding or trying to come to terms with her own relationship with Islam and how to embrace that for herself. – Mahershala Ali
When I was growing up, in the ’80s and ’90s, I just never really saw myself reflected in the things that I had a liking for. It makes a difference. – Mahershala Ali
I’ve never seen anyone – and I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really terrific actors in my time – but Philip Seymour Hoffman is definitely the best I ever had the opportunity to work with. – Mahershala Ali
If you’re throwing someone off a roof, you’re throwing them off the roof. It’s there. You don’t have to do anything extra with that. The audience is obviously going to react to that because it’s such a heightened thing to do. But in the other moments, you really look for ways to craft those, because they’re more important, honestly. – Mahershala Ali
There are instances where you’re in a space with someone who has been extraordinarily successful, and they don’t necessarily connect with you as another person. You can be a prop for them to deliver their stuff, and you’re just another element in the scene. – Mahershala Ali
One thing that the audience, and perhaps critics, aren’t aware of is that, especially in a film like ‘Moonlight,’ you always shoot a lot more footage than makes the cut of the film. – Mahershala Ali
To really be conscious of how long the journey is, be patient, push yourself, persevere, and always be working on your craft while waiting for your break. That’s what I’m still working on, having done this for 20 years now. – Mahershala Ali
To get to play someone who was in some capacity the King of Harlem, that meant something to me. Deep within my bones. I was inspired by the energy that I knew to be a real thing. – Mahershala Ali
There’s this Method Man album called ‘Tical.’ It’s his first album. I would just listen to that every day, because the album feels like, if it were a film, it would be black and white. It feels like there’s a war percolating throughout the album itself. It’s dark, and it has a nice forward pace to it. – Mahershala Ali
It’s important for people of colour to have the opportunities to play characters that are as nuanced – as three-dimensional, as human – as the characters who we traditionally see getting to play the protagonist. The good guys and the bad guys. The reason that is important is because it’s a better reflection of the reality of the world we live in. – Mahershala Ali
I think it’s important for people of colour to have similar opportunities to white people; that’s what is most important. – Mahershala Ali
As a kid, my dad would take me to see indie films when I would visit him in New York. Films that I just wouldn’t see growing up in the Bay Area. – Mahershala Ali
Regardless of theology or however you see life or relate to worshiping God, as an artist, my job is to tell the truth and then try to connect with these characters and people as honestly and deeply as possible. – Mahershala Ali
Theater will cast in a more open way; Denzel Washington might play Richard III. Television and film don’t really cast openly like that. The theater world has always been a leader in diversity. – Mahershala Ali
I thought, ‘I’ve been doing this for 16 years professionally. I have a window where I want to play leading parts.’ – Mahershala Ali
At a certain point in my career, I was probably having a difficult time ‘holding space.’ So you get a character that has to be commanding in order for him to resonate and make sense. – Mahershala Ali
My friends in college, several of whom are still my closest companions, would tell you that I was almost obsessed with becoming – fixated on creating – the future that I envisioned for myself: one of expanding to know my fullest self, which I have in no way achieved. – Mahershala Ali
We live in diverse communities with all sorts of people from all sorts of different backgrounds. The more our entertainment can be a reflection of the world we live in, the better it is for all of us. – Mahershala Ali
I loved going to superhero films growing up – you come home, and you pretend to be those people, and it ends up informing much of what you aspire to be. And that’s what I will say is important about the genre. – Mahershala Ali
As an actor, as you grow into where you fit in the industry, you’re just trying to find the opportunities, hoping they grow and you get to do more. – Mahershala Ali
