Mahershala Ali

Mahershala Ali's biography

Mahershala Ali is 48 years old television actor born at Oakland. He was born on Saturday 16th of February 1974. He is often nicknamed as Mahershala Ali. According to year of birth 1974 Mahershalalhashbaz belongs to Generation X. Birthday on 16th of February means he is Aquarius. Aquarius is an Airy sign. They are smart thinkers, social, communicative, independent and intelligent people.

He is native english speaker. He is black american. Mahershalalhashbaz is citizen of United States of America. Mahershalalhashbaz is muslim. Mahershalalhashbaz´s primary profession is to be television actor. You can know him also as film actor, stage actor, actor. Mahershalalhashbaz is recently known as basketball player. Mahershalalhashbaz received Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Moonlight in 2015

Mahershala Ali's schools

We found 4 schools Mahershalalhashbaz attended. Complete list of schools: Saint Mary's College of California, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Mount Eden High School, Hayward High School.

Detailed informations about Mahershalalhashbaz´s schools

He studied university - St. Mary's College.

Mahershala Ali's career

His main focus is to be television actor. Mahershalalhashbaz is famous thanks to Treme. You could see him also in Moonlight, Green Book.

Is Mahershala Ali gay ?

He is known to be straight.

Awards and competitions

Mahershala Ali's Awards

• Revealed during his SAG Award speech in 2017 that he is a Muslim and converted to Islam 17 years earlier. He also mentioned in the same speech that his mother is an ordained minister.
• His Oscar win for the drama film Moonlight (2016) marked the first time a Muslim actor has won an Academy Award.
• Won his first Academy Award only four days after becoming a father for the first time in February 2017.

Mahershala Ali's Nominations

• Mahershalalhashbaz was nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

What Mahershala Ali has done for a first time

• Became a father for the first time at age 43 when his wife Amatus Sami-Karim gave birth to their daughter Bari Najma Ali on February 22, 2017.
• His Oscar win for the drama film Moonlight (2016) marked the first time a Muslim actor has won an Academy Award.
• Won his first Academy Award only four days after becoming a father for the first time in February 2017.

Mahershala Ali's quotes

• 'Mahershala' is my nickname.
• 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.
• In my humble opinion, the ages 22 to about 27 are the most critical years of your adult life. It's your time to gestate in the cocoon of becoming.
• Understand that we are all co-creators of our respective destinies.
• I do believe that there are creative chakras or different sorts of energy centers.
• Social media has colonized what was once a sacred space occupied by emptiness: the space reserved for thought and creativity.
• Cottonmouth is the result of having to react to his circumstances. He had to, in some ways, take control of the situation and own his circumstances. But as a result of that, he became a person he didn't intend to become.
• I found myself sort of becoming a character actor, though I don't know if that would be my natural makeup.
• People are really paying attention to the comic-book genre, and there's a lot of time and attention being invested in these projects with a wonderful sense of quality control.
• I haven't gotten to do the leading man thing, so I would love to do that!
• I watch a lot of home stuff; I like seeing things go from one thing to another and get fixed up. I was a sports kid.
• There are not enough going into production so that we can tout them. Look at 'Precious'... In order for them to stand out, they have to get made in the first place, and that's just not happening enough.
• It's about very talented writers, directors, producers, and actors being in a position for their projects to be supported, but there's just not enough black projects being made.
• You want entertainment in general, every aspect of it, to be more of a reflection of the diverse world that we live in.
• It's still amazing, but when I was growing up, Harlem was the Mecca of black culture. I was so inspired by it, the aspirational feeling you'd get spending time there. Experiences that were really specific to that place.
• What you see in 'Daredevil' and 'Jessica Jones' isn't the Hell's Kitchen of today; it's a version of what it was like.
• I really enjoyed working with Mariah, Alfre Woodward's character, because she's a wonderful actor, and I felt we had a natural chemistry that was reflective of real family members.
• I don't really compare any of the characters I play; I try to go into them being very open to what the characters can offer and what I can bring to them and then bring a being to life.
• 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.
• Cultures and races are mixing in a very organic way in the world, and that should be reflected in film and television.
• Marvel has such a huge slice of the pie.
• I think if you have any desire to be a leading man or to really carry some of these stories, there's this relationship that has to be cultivated with an audience. People have to be able to say your name.
• 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.
• I wanted to take on my full name, which was sort of a crazy thing to do considering that we're in Hollywood.
• The call for diversity is about recognizing that in order to be in the conversation come awards season, it goes back to the content that is being produced.
• I have to say goodbye to things in order to take on bigger things that I've always wanted to do. I believe that everything has a shelf life.
• 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.
• The people that I admire have a wonderful balance of self-belief and humility.
• I always hope to be a better person tomorrow than today.
• I don't have a wallet. I carry my driver's license and a couple of credit cards in my phone. That, and a money clip.
• In thinking about it, the villains often have a little bit more range because their morality is different. You can have just a really good time as an actor, and there is just more there that you can explore on that side of the story.
• Hollywood has to be a better reflection of the world we live in.
• For my characters, it's important to get really specific about what they listen to. Because it affects how they move in the world.
• I think #OscarsSoWhite is about there not truly being enough people of color represented.
• 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.
• 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.
• I'd always wanted to do a Marvel project, and I'd always imagined getting to play one of the superheroes because it's such a hard thing to get. It's the parts that only go to a few people. The flip side of that is the antagonists are pretty awesome.
• I really wasn't into comic books growing up.
• As young people, you want to see people who in some way look like you to some degree, because it makes it a little easier for you to aspire to take on the qualities of those people.
• There's nothing fun about 30 people standing around watching you, like, pretend to pleasure someone. Nothing enjoyable about it, believe me.
• The more you work and get known for something, sometimes things begin to narrow a bit, and your opportunities get more... specific.
• I'd never been around or seen a black showrunner, and in some ways you wish that it wasn't a big deal.
• I've been working almost 20 years, and I think I've worked with maybe one black director of photography in that time. Maybe two women directors or DPs. Maybe. And I've done a lot of television. That's a lot of people I've worked with.
• 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.
• In terms of pace, I think I just have to revisit my relationship with expectations. That has a little bit to do with comparing ourselves to other people and seeing other people's journey and seeing how they had a certain success at a certain age.
• Kids feel like they have to puff up or shrink. These reclusive qualities begin to develop because you feel that who you are is going to either be accepted or rejected by your family and friends.
• When I was growing up, I was told you could be anything you want to be, but I didn't really believe that because you couldn't be president. Like, I knew that; we never had a black president.
• I was supremely fortunate to do several projects that I'm really excited about. So within all that, there's a lot going on this year. I'm excited about 2016.
• I always felt that Jay-Z, if he had a different upbringing, could be on Wall Street or in politics. If you really listen to Jay Z talk, he's kind of the smartest guy in the room.
• People will burn through a show in two or three days, and then you're left feeling empty for 51 weeks.
• Family are the people that can hurt you the most.
• I saw this documentary he did years ago called 'Fade to Black'. I was always a Jay Z fan - I liked Jay Z - but after I saw that documentary, I loved Jay Z. I realized how intelligent he was.
• I thought 'I've been doing this for 16 years professionally. I have a window where I want to play leading parts.'
• A lot of actors know they want to be actors a little bit earlier on. I didn't even really start studying until I was about 22.
• Coming off 'House of Cards', playing someone so straight-laced, I was getting offered a lot of F.B.I. agents.
• Moonlight' is a project that resonated with me more than anything else. I wouldn't have done 'Luke Cage' if they hadn't made time for 'Moonlight.
• I got out of grad school in 2000. I was about 26 years old. I've always said that I was late to acting because I didn't really start doing it in a focused way until I was in my early 20s.
• You can't watch 'Daredevil' or 'Jessica Jones' or the Marvel films and not be aware that the villain has to be awesome. I've always wanted to have more space. And the scope, morally, is more broad for the villain than the hero.
• I approach things from my feeling first. I have to get a feel for the character. I'll do that through music; I'll do it through what is naturally popping up for me when I read the script. My ideas or whatever the occupation of the character might be.
• The things that people won't totally accept come in all shapes and sizes and forms, and I can relate to that in my own youth.
• People do bad things, but that doesn't mean they don't have other colors or qualities.
• I know someone from growing up who is in jail right now for the rest of his life, but he was one of the sweetest people I ever knew.
• It's a lot of wonderful things about the Bay area and Oakland that I absolutely love. I wouldn't change being from there by any stretch.
• I think Don Cheadle has always done great work.
• I do think that there are people who are able to connect with and empathize with anyone who is going through something difficult, just naturally. I don't think it's a world of effort for everyone.
• Viola Davis is a perfect example of somebody who's so much better than the parts she has the opportunity to play.
• I really love Tom Hardy. He makes really interesting choices.
• I think selfishly, as an actor, we always want to do more.
• I was going to try to get into the creative writing program at Berkeley; it's just that the acting thing worked out.
• 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.
• If you're not careful as an actor, you can find yourself, at a certain point, a little bit bored.
• I love hip hop. It's such an appendage for me. It's something that's always shaped my experience out in the world.
• My dream role is Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion.
• My manager called me and said 'Hey, there's a series at Neflix.' I'm like 'Netflix? Oh, boy.' At that time, it was just a strange thing to hear. It's like going 'There's a series at Blockbuster.'
• The work that I do with all of my characters is have some sense of where they come from. I kind of create my own story for myself. What's going on with my parents? Are they alive? Or family - do I have children? Do you see those things or not?
• 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.
• I'm so appreciative that people have begun to recognize my work in a way where it can afford me more opportunities.
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Mahershala Ali's height, body shape, eye color

Lets describe how Mahershala Ali looks. We will focus on his height, body shape, eye color and hair color. Mahershalalhashbaz is tall as 6' 1½" (187 cm). Body build is athletic. His eyes are tinted brown - dark. His hair is shade of bald.