Mahershala Ali facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mahershala Ali
Ali at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore (1974-02-16) February 16, 1974 (age 51) Oakland, California, U.S.
Other names	Mahershala Karim-Ali, Hershal Gilmore (formerly)
Education	Saint Mary's College, California (BA) New York University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2001–present
Spouse(s)	Amatus Sami-Karim ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	1
Awards	Full list

Mahershala Ali (born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore on February 16, 1974) is a famous American actor. He has won many major awards, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2019, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Ali studied acting at New York University and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. He started his career in TV shows like Crossing Jordan and Threat Matrix. He became more well-known for his role as Richard Tyler in the science fiction series The 4400 from 2004 to 2007.

His first big movie role was in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). He also appeared in the popular The Hunger Games movies and the TV series House of Cards.

Ali won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice. The first was for playing a complex character in the movie Moonlight (2016). The second was for his role as the musician Don Shirley in Green Book (2018). He is the first Black actor to win two Oscars in the same acting category.

He has also played characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes in the Netflix series Luke Cage. He also voiced the character Aaron Davis, also known as the Prowler, in the animated movies Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Early Life and School

Ali was born in Oakland, California, on February 16, 1974. His very long first name, Mahershalalhashbaz, comes from the Book of Isaiah in the Bible. He was raised by his mother, Willicia Goines, who was a Baptist minister in Hayward, California. His father, Phillip Gilmore, was a dancer who performed on Broadway.

He went to Saint Mary's College of California on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1996. While playing basketball, he used the name "Hershal Gilmore." He soon discovered a passion for acting after performing in a play called Spunk. After college, he decided to study acting and earned his master's degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2000.

Acting Career

Ali at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con

For the first part of his career, Ali used his full birth name, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali. Around 2010, he shortened it to Mahershala Ali. He said his full name was often too long to fit on movie posters. He wanted people to be able to say his name easily as he became more famous.

Famous Roles

Ali has played many memorable characters. He was Remy Danton in the political drama House of Cards and Colonel Boggs in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. He also appeared in important films like Hidden Figures, which tells the story of African-American women working at NASA.

His performance in the 2016 film Moonlight earned him widespread praise and his first Academy Award. This made him the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar. In 2018, he won his second Oscar for playing the real-life pianist Don Shirley in the movie Green Book.

Ali at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2019, Ali starred as detective Wayne Hays in the third season of the HBO series True Detective. His performance was highly praised by critics.

Marvel Universe and Voice Acting

Ali has also been a part of the popular Marvel universe. In 2016, he played the villain Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes in the Netflix series Luke Cage.

He has also done voice acting. He was the voice of Aaron Davis / Prowler in the award-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and its sequel. In July 2019, it was announced that Ali would play the superhero Blade in a new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.

Music Career

Besides acting, Ali is also a musician. In the late 2000s, he recorded rap music under the name Prince Ali. He released two albums, Corner Ensemble (2006) and Curb Side Service (2007). However, he chose to focus on his acting career instead of touring to promote his music. He has also been a guest artist on albums by other rappers.

Personal Life

Ali became a Muslim in the year 2000 and changed his last name from Gilmore to Ali. He is married to Amatus Sami-Karim, who is also an artist. They have a daughter, who was born in February 2017.

Ali is a big fan of hip hop music and has named many rappers as his favorites. In October 2023, he signed a letter with other artists asking for a ceasefire in the 2023 Gaza war. He has also shown support for Palestinians in other ways, such as by sharing a poem on social media.

Selected Film and TV Roles

Here are some of Mahershala Ali's most well-known roles.

Film

Television

Awards and Recognition

Mahershala Ali has received many awards for his acting. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Moonlight and Green Book. He also won a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for Green Book.

For his television work, he has been nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards. He was nominated for his roles in House of Cards, True Detective, and Ramy. In 2020, he won an Emmy Award for producing the children's program We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest.

See also

In Spanish: Mahershala Ali para niños