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Mahershala Ali

Actor

Mahershala Ali

Born February 16, 1974 in Oakland, California, USA35 films

Mahershala Ali (/məˈhɜːrʃələ/ mə-HUR-shə-lə; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore on February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019, and in 2020, The New York Times ranked him among the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century.

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After pursuing an MFA degree from New York University, Ali began his career as a regular on television series Crossing Jordan (2001–02) and Threat Matrix (2003–04), before his breakthrough role as Richard Tyler in the science fiction series The 4400 (2004–07). His first major film role was in the David Fincher-directed fantasy The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). He gained wider attention for supporting roles in the final two films of the original The Hunger Games film series and in House of Cards, for which he received his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Ali won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances as a drug dealer in the drama Moonlight (2016) and as Don Shirley in the comedy-drama Green Book (2018). He is the first Black actor to win two Academy Awards in the same category and the second Black actor to win multiple acting Oscars. Ali won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program for executive producing We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest (2020).

In 2019, he played a troubled police officer in the third season of the HBO anthology crime series True Detective, and in 2020, he starred in the second season of the Hulu comedy-drama series Ramy. He was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for both performances. Ali has also played Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes in the first season of the Netflix series Luke Cage (2016) and voiced Aaron Davis in the animated films Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).

Description above from the Wikipedia article Mahershala Ali, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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The best way into Mahershala Ali's work
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse posterFirst watchSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse20188.4as Uncle Aaron (voice)Struggling to find his place in the world while juggling school and family, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales is unexpectedly bitten by a radioactive spider and develops unfathomable powers…View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Green Book poster8.2Green Book2018Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse poster8.4Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse2023Hidden Figures poster8.0Hidden Figures2016The Curious Case of Benjamin Button poster7.6The Curious Case of Benjamin Button2008Alita: Battle Angel poster7.3Alita: Battle Angel2019The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 poster6.8The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 12014Moonlight poster7.4Moonlight2016The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 poster6.9The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 22015

Filmography

35 films as actor
  1. TBA77 Blackout
  2. TBAThe Personal History of Rachel DuPreeIsaac Dupree
  3. TBAAll Signs of DeathGabe
  4. TBADriver
  5. TBAUntitled Jurassic World Rebirth SequelDuncan Kincaid
  6. 2027Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-VerseUncle Aaron (voice)
  7. 2026WildwoodBrenden (voice)
  8. 2026Your Mother Your Mother Your MotherLatif
  9. 2025Jurassic World RebirthDuncan Kincaid
  10. 2023Leave the World BehindG.H. Scott
  11. 2023Spider-Man: Across the Spider-VerseUncle Aaron (voice)
  12. 2021Swan SongCameron Turner
  13. 2021EternalsEric Brooks / Blade (voice) (uncredited)
  14. 2019Alita: Battle AngelVector
  15. 2018Spider-Man: Into the Spider-VerseUncle Aaron (voice)
  16. 2018Green BookDr. Don Shirley
  17. 2017Roxanne RoxanneCross
  18. 2016Hidden FiguresJim Johnson
  19. 2016MoonlightJuan
  20. 2016KicksMarlon
  21. 2016Free State of JonesMoses Washington
  22. 2016Gubagude KoOchoro
  23. 2015The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2Boggs
  24. 2014The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1Boggs
  25. 2014SupremacyDeputy Rivers
  26. 2013Go for SistersDez
  27. 2013The Place Beyond the PinesKofi Kancam
  28. 2010Predators: Moments of ExtractionMombasa (voice)
  29. 2010The Wronged ManCalvin Willis
  30. 2010PredatorsMombasa
  31. 2010Predators: The Chosen
  32. 2009Crossing OverDetective Strickland
  33. 2008The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonTizzy Weathers
  34. 2008Umi's HeartEzra
  35. 2003Taste the RevolutionMac Laslow