Mahershala Ali

Actor

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.

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.

Known For

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Not in library

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

2018

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 Not in library

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

2014

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Not in library

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2008

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Not in library

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

2015

Green Book Not in library

Green Book

2018

Hidden Figures Not in library

Hidden Figures

2016

Alita: Battle Angel Not in library

Alita: Battle Angel

2019

Eternals Not in library

Eternals

2021

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Not in library

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

2023

Moonlight Not in library

Moonlight

2016

Acting

2027 Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse as Uncle Aaron (voice)
2026 Wildwood as Brenden (voice)
2025 Jurassic World Rebirth as Duncan Kincaid In Library
2025 Jurassic World Rebirth: The Making of a New Era as Self In Library
2023 Leave the World Behind as G.H. Scott
2023 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as Uncle Aaron (voice)
2023 Stand as Self - Actor
2023 Chimp Empire as Self - Narrator (voice) (4 episodes)
2021 Eternals as Eric Brooks / Blade (voice) (uncredited)
2021 Swan Song as Cameron Turner
2021 Invincible as Titan (voice) (2 episodes)
2021 Amend: The Fight for America as Self (3 episodes)
2020 Between the World and Me
2020 A World of Calm as Narrator (1 episode)
2019 Alita: Battle Angel as Vector
2019 Ramy as Sheikh Ali Malik (6 episodes)
2018 Green Book as Dr. Don Shirley
2018 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as Uncle Aaron (voice)
2017 Roxanne Roxanne as Cross
2017 Adnis as Adnis
2017 Room 104 as Franco (1 episode)
2016 Free State of Jones as Moses Washington
2016 Kicks as Marlon
2016 Hidden Figures as Jim Johnson
2016 Moonlight as Juan
2016 Gubagude Ko as Ochoro
2016 Race for the White House as Narrator (6 episodes)
2016 Marvel's Luke Cage as Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes (6 episodes)
2015 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 as Boggs
2015 The Mockingjay Lives: The Making of the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 as Self - Boggs
2015 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self (1 episode)
2015 Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self (2 episodes)
2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 as Boggs
2014 Supremacy as Deputy Rivers
2014 True Detective as Wayne Hays (8 episodes)
2014 Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self (3 episodes)
2013 The Place Beyond the Pines as Kofi Kancam
2013 Go for Sisters as Dez
2013 House of Cards as Remy Danton (45 episodes)
2012 Alcatraz as Clarence Montgomery (1 episode)
2011 Alphas as Nathan Clay (12 episodes)
2010 Predators as Mombasa
2010 The Wronged Man as Calvin Willis
2010 Predators: Moments of Extraction as Mombasa (voice)
2010 Predators: The Chosen
2009 Crossing Over as Detective Strickland
2009 The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button as Self
2009 Lie to Me as Detective Hughes (1 episode)
2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as Tizzy Weathers
2008 Umi's Heart as Ezra
2008 Stand Up to Cancer as Self (1 episode)
2007 The Graham Norton Show as Self (1 episode)
2004 The 4400 as Richard Tyler (33 episodes)
2003 Taste the Revolution as Mac Laslow
2003 Threat Matrix as Jelani Harper (16 episodes)
2003 Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self (1 episode)
2001 Crossing Jordan as Trey Sanders (23 episodes)
2000 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Tombs' Security Guard (1 episode)
1999 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Mark Foster (1 episode)
1997 The View as Self (1 episode)
1996 The Daily Show as Self (1 episode)
1973 The American Film Institute Salute to ... as Self (1 episode)
1953 The Oscars as Self - Presenter (1 episode)
1953 The Oscars as Self (2 episodes)
— 77 Blackout
— The Personal History of Rachel DuPree as Isaac Dupree
— All Signs of Death as Gabe
— Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
— The Ten Commandments

Production

2021 Swan Song Producer
2020 We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest Executive Producer
2003 Taste the Revolution Executive Producer

Crew

2019 Waves Thanks
2010 Predators: Moments of Extraction Thanks